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iKmcrican iOtature ^etiti 

Group IV. Working with Nrture 



SHELL-FISH INDUSTRIES 



BY 



JAMES L. KELLOGG 

PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY IN WILLIAMS COLLEGE 



ILLUSTRATED 




NEW YORK 

HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY 
1910 






CQPYRIGHT, igio, 

BY 

HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY 

Published February 1910 



!CLA2r)B732 



PREFACE 

It was suggested to me that I should try to prepare 
this account of our food molkisks for three groups of per- 
sons, namely, those who eat them, those who may be or 
desire to become directly interested in their culture, and 
those who may have an interest in the biological problems 
involved in their artificial control. This suggestion I 
adopted, and many times since have wondered at the reck- 
lessness of my courage in attempting a performance of so 
varied a character. I recall vividly the impression made 
on my youthful mind years ago on witnessing the evolu- 
tions of three beautifully matched horses and the graceful 
feat of James Robinson in riding them around a ring. 
Though in my wildest childhood imaginings I never 
dreamed of attempting or desired to attempt so skilful 
an act, I have in the last months, at a period of life hat 
should conventionally be characterized at least by sedate- 
ness, experienced the disquieting sensation of having actu- 
ally attempted much the same kind of a performance in 
thus endeavoring to present several topics that might hold 
the attention of readers possessing widely different in- 
terests. While desiring to exhibit these subjects so as to 
bring out their most interesting features, I, of course, 
have been compelled to present them for brief intervals 
one at a time, thus always giving two-thirds of my 
readers an opportunity to yawn. If, however, it should 
happen that the other third is interested, I shall be amply 
paid for my effort. 



iv Preface 

While the first three chapters, that deal with some ana- 
tomical, developmental, and physiological facts, may re- 
quire closer attention than some of the others, they are de- 
signed in part to make clearer several subjects treated sub- 
sequently. That on anatomy has been made as simple 
as possible, and the illustrations are new. The short ac- 
count of a few ciliary mechanisms in the third chapter is 
from my own observations, and previously I have pub- 
lished only those on Venus. It may be that even the 
small part of my cilia work here presented will be of some 
interest to biologists, for the subject itself is practically 
new. 

A relatively large amount of attention has, of course, 
been given to the oyster. My own interest in the form 
began nearly twenty years ago, my attention being 
directed to it by the late Professor W. K. Brooks, the 
great naturalist and great teacher, who will always be 
remembered in Maryland as the father of oyster culture. 
My first efforts, made together with another of Dr. 
Brooks' pupils, were directed toward a solution of the 
problem of rearing the swimming embryo in small in- 
closures to the stage in which it became attached, and in 
spite of the ingenuity of my friend, we failed dismally. 
For that reason I write with some feeling the chapter 
on rearing the oyster from the egg. I may perhaps be 
allowed to state that from many wanderings along our 
coast, I have been enabled to gain a more or less exten- 
sive personal knowledge of oyster culture and familiarity 
with parts of the oyster field described. It has seemed 
to me that the person who eats oysters — and who does 
not? — might be interested not merely in the manner of 
their production and preparation for market, some de- 
scriptions of which have appeared, but also in the oyster 



Preface v 

fields on our shores, no connected account of which has 
been pubHshed so far as I know. So I have given con- 
siderable space to the history and present condition of 
our oyster territory, and have ventured some suggestions 
concerning its future development. 

The chapters on the life history of the soft clam, Mya, 
the conditions governing its growth, and on clam culture, 
constitute an account of my own work begun in 1898 at 
a time when practically nothing was known concerning 
the biology of the form except through analogy. This 
work was suggested by Dr. H. C. Bumpus, now Director 
of the American Museum of Natural History of New 
York, for the United States Fish Commission. In 
Rhode Island, successful experiments on the growth of 
Mya have also been carried on by Professor A. D. Mead. 
The short account of the growth of the hard clam, Venus, 
is also from observations that I published in 1903. Sev- 
eral facts concerning the life histories and growth of the 
soft clam, hard clam, and scallop have been supplied by my 
friend and former pupil, Mr. D. L. Belding, Biologist of 
the Massachusetts Fish and Game Commission, who has 
had these forms continually under observation since 1905, 
and who has experimented on a very large scale. Some 
of these facts Mr. Belding has not yet published. Some 
observations by Mr. J. R. Stevenson, another of my 
pupils, have been quoted. 

The attempt has been made to present the great possi- 
bilities of clam culture, and to call attention to legislative 
changes that are necessary to inaugurate it. Biological 
knowledge assuring its success is at hand, while many 
thousands of acres in New England entirely adapted to it 
now lie barren and unproductive. It would be fortunate 
if by some means there might be extended to other parts 



vi Preface 

of the country, where these forms are now unknown in 
the markets, a knowledge of their great value as food 
mollusks, for our entire coast line is capable of producing 
either the soft or the hard clam. 

Mr. Roosevelt uttered a great truth when he stated that 
the most important problem confronting the nation is the 
conservation of its natural resources; and the wonderful 
awakening of the people to that truth, for which he more 
than any other person is responsible, is one of the most 
important events that has occurred in America during a 
century of waste and extravagance. An attempt has here 
been made to show that even the resources of the " great 
and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable," 
are very far from being inexhaustible, as many seem to 
imagine ; but also that some of its useful forms may, by 
directing the processes of nature that are at the same time 
productive of so great bounty and so great waste, not 
only be conserved, but made to produce even on waste 
places greater harvests than ever before existed. 

Acknowledgment for the use of figures is gratefully 
made to the United States Bureau of Fisheries, to various 
state fish commissions, to the Johns Hopkins University 
Press, and to the American Museum of Natural History 
of New York. All but one of the text figures are my 
own, and, with a few obvious exceptions, are drawn from 
my own preparations. 

WiLLIAMSTOWN, MaSS., 

January, 1910. 



CONTENTS 

Chapter I 
SEA FARMING 

FACE 

A national inventory of resources — Waste by earlier genera- 
tions — Extinction of undomesticated food organisms in- 
evitable — Achievements in the domestication of terrestrial 
animals and plants — Sea farming — What has been ac- 
complished — What may be hoped for I 

Chapter II 

NOTES ON THE ANATOMY OF THE FOOD 
MOLLUSKS 

The shell — Its parts — Pearls — Attachment of the oyster — The 
mantle — The digestive tract — The palps or lips — Mouth, 
stomach, and intestine — The vascular system — The heart 
— The excretory organs — Sexual organs — Hermaphrodit- 
ism — The nervous system — The foot — Creeping, digging, 
and spinning the byssus — Swimming by means of the foot 
— Structure of the gills of Mytilus, Pecten, and Ostrea . Ii 

Chapter III 

DEVELOPMENT 

Structure of the male and female cells — Preparation of the 
ovum for fertilization — Fertilization — Segmentation — 
Formation of organs — Attachment 39 

Chapter IV 

CILIARY MECHANISMS 

The food of bivalves — The normal process of feeding — The 
gills as food collectors — Transfer of food to the mouth 
by gills and palps — The mud problem and its solution 
— Cilia tracts on the mantle of Venus leading backward 
in the mantle chamber — How mud is discharged from 



viii Contents 



the mantle chamber — Cilia tracts on the side of the 
visceral mass — Mud collected by the gills — The palps 
organs for determining whether collected material shall 
be carried to the mouth or away from it — Ciliation of 
organs of the oyster — Selection or rejection of material 
determined by its volume — Experiments — Automatic selec- 
tion of food by the gills of Pecten — Special organs for 
the rejection of mud in Pholas 

> Chapter V 

OYSTER CULTURE IN EUROPE AND JAPAN 

Ancient shell heaps — Oyster culture in antiquity — European 
flat and Portuguese oysters — Destruction of natural oyster 
beds in Europe — Scientific experiments of M. de Bon and 
M. Coste — Great initial success of oyster culture in 
France — Early disaster to the industry — Ignorance of the 
biological factors involved — Revival of the industry — 
Spat collectors — The breeding season — Caring for the 
growing oysters — Oyster culture between tide lines — 
Oyster parks and their construction — Racks for the young 
— The " greening " of oysters — Final preparation for 
market — Japanese oysters — The use of bamboo collec- 
tors — Growth of the young 



Chapter VI 

CONDITIONS GOVERNING OYSTER GROWTH 
—OYSTER PLANTING IN AMERICA 

Why European methods will not be employed in America — 
How American is different from European oyster cul- 
ture — Biological conditions governing oyster growth — 
Bottom to be selected for oyster culture — Food require- 
ments — The effect of a variable salinity — Oyster planting 
— " Seed " oysters — Time required for growth — The 
amount of seed to be planted— Method of planting the 
seed — Gathering the seed — Natural beds as sources of 
seed — Former use of Chesapeake seed in the North — 
Irregularity of the set in northern waters .... 

Chapter VII 

REARING OYSTERS FROM THE EGG 

A method of artificial fertilization of oyster eggs— Wide- 
spread interest in the discovery of Professor Brooks — 
Impracticable modifications of the method by others — 



Contents ix 



Origin of the belief that artificial fertilization might 
simplify oyster culture — Persistence of this hope to the 
present time — Liberated embryos gathered on collectors 
in France — Experiments in America — Oyster and clam 
culture have nothing to gain from artificial fertilization 
of the egg 109 

Chapter VIII 

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA 

True oyster culture not extensively practised — Advantages 
from the capture of seed on collectors — Collectors em- 
ployed in America — When collectors or " cultch " should 
be spread — Slime — Care of growing oysters — Labor 
necessary for success — Varying methods in different 
fields — Nature of the labor of the northern culturist . 118 

Chapter IX 

IMPLEMENTS AND THEIR USES— BOATS— 

THE PREPARATION OF OYSTERS 

FOR MARKET 

Tongs and their uses — Nippers — Patent tongs — The use of 
dredges — Opposition to the use of the dredge — Form and 
sizes of dredges — Hand and steam windlasses for draw- 
ing dredges — Boats — Tonging boats — Schooner rigged 
vessels — The lugger — Steam vessels — The " Early Bird " 
— Increase in the number of steam vessels — A demonstra- 
tion of the superiority of steam power — Preparing oysters 
for market — Cleaning and culling — The freshening of 
oysters — Bad features of the practice — The matter of 
taste and the flavor of oysters — " Shucking " — Washing 
the " meats " — Containers, tin cans, barrels, pails, bottles 
— Shipping — Steamed oysters 129 



Chapter X 

NATURAL ENEMIES OF THE AMERICAN 
OYSTER 

The starfish in the north Atlantic — First recognized as a 
dangerous oyster enemy in 1882 — Structure — Its migra- 
tions — Its food — How the starfish opens an oyster or 
clam — Removal of starfish from oyster beds by means of 
tangles — The oyster drill — Formerly not numerous — The 
drumfish — Sheepshead — Rays and skates — Crabs — The 
oyster crab — Mussels — The boring sponge — The boring 
clam — Sea-weeds and hydroids — Oyster diseases . . . 147 



X Contents 

Chapter XI 
BIVALVES IN RELATION TO DISEASE 

PAGE 

Typhoid fever — Sources of infection — Contamination of 
water over oyster or clam beds — How bivalves strain 
disease organisms from large quantities of sea water- 
Need of caution in eating uncooked bivalves — Danger in 
the freshening process — How it may be prevented — 
Safety rests largely on the demands of the consumer . i66 

Chapter XII 

THE NORTHERN OYSTER FIELD— HISTORICAL 

Natural oyster beds north of Cape Cod — Kitchen middens in 
north New England — The Damariscotta shell heap — His- 
torical records — Why natural oyster beds have disap- 
peared — Early extent of natural beds in New England 
and New York — Cause of the depletion of the natural 
beds — The beginnings of oyster culture in America — 
Early laws governing the oyster industry — Lease and 
sale of bottoms — The fear of monopolies — The futility 
of the close season 174 

Chapter XIII 

PRESENT CONDITIONS IN THE NORTHERN 
FIELD 

American and European oysters compared — The use of 
southern seed — Oyster laws — The old method of local 
control — The new method — Surveys of barren bottoms as 
well as of natural beds — Definition of a natural bed — 
Incontestible titles and the settlement of disputes — Other 
features of present Connecticut oyster laws — Direct 
revenue plan not in favor — Activities on Long Island 
Sound — Deep water culture — Mergers — Monopoly — Work 
during the summer — Northern markets 186 

Chapter XIV 

THE CHESAPEAKE 

Historical — Record of the oyster industry fragmentary — 
Origin of the present packing business in Maryland — In 
Virginia — Estimated production of the Chesapeake in 
half a century — Belief that the supply was inexhaustible 
— Special Maryland Oyster Commission of 1882 — Report 
of Professor Brooks — Destruction of the natural beds 
by excessive dredging — Record of the decline of the in- 



Contents xi 



dustry — Production in Virginia exceeds that of Mary- 
land — The Chesapeake oyster in politics — Laws not en- 
forced—Oyster pirates and their raids— Oyster culture 
impossible— How the crews of the pirate vessels were 
recruited — Their treatment by dredging captains — Present 
and future of the Chesapeake industry — Ineffectual polic- 
ing by " oyster navies " — No surveys of barren bottoms 
—Natural beds still the chief source of the supply— Plant- 
ing on the increase — Features of Maryland's oyster laws 
of 1906 — Survey of the natural beds by the new Oyster 
Commission — Criticism of the new law 206 

Chapter XV 
THE NORTH CAROLINA FIELD 

Physical characters of the region — Oyster reefs — How oysters 
form islands — Why natural oyster beds do not appear 
between tide lines in the northern field as in the 
Carolinas — Why, in North Carolina, natural beds seldom 
form below the low tide line — Oyster clusters — " Rac- 
coon " oysters and how they are formed — Small oysters 
from clusters available for seed — Formation of river 
tonging beds — Possibilities of oyster culture in Pamlico 
Sound — Extension of natural beds — The appearance of 
the Baltimore dredgers — Destruction of the natural beds 
Dredging by non-residents prohibited — Cull laws not en- 
forced — The future of the industry in North Carolina . 229 

Chapter XVI 
THE GULF OF MEXICO 

Florida — Natural beds between and below tide lines — Laws — 
Alabama — Mississippi — Rapid development of the in- 
dustry in Louisiana — Subsidence of the shore line — Great 
area available for oyster culture — Nature of the coast 
east of the Mississippi River — Chandeleur Islands and 
Sound — Rapid growth of oyster culture west of the delta 
— Silt deposit — Experiments showing that the softest of 
bottoms may be reclaimed — Great deposits of small shells 
— Ideal collectors — Rapid rate of oyster growth— Oyster 
enemies — Destructiveness of floods from the Mississippi — 
Advantages in the conditions in- Louisiana — Wise laws — 
Production rapidly increasing — Texas — Natural beds — 
Prospect for the future 251 

Chapter XVII 

THE PACIFIC FIELD 

The native Pacific oyster— Atlantic animals introduced into 
the Pacific — Planting the native oyster in Washington — 



xii Contents 



Depletion of the natural beds in Puget Sound — Introduc- 
tion of the Atlantic oyster in San Francisco and Willapa 
bays — Failure of reproduction — Low temperature — Ac- 
climatization — Stock companies for rearing oysters in 
Washington 269 

Chapter XVIII 

THE SOFT CLAM— DISTRIBUTION AND 
CONDITIONS CONTROLLING IT 

Former abundance in New England — Present scarcity — 
Vernacular and " scientific " names — Character of clam 
bottoms — Digging clams — Action of disturbed clams — 
Conditions necessary for the growth of Mya— Effect of a 
shifting bottom — A tenacious soil necessary — Clay, a 
growth of algEe thatch — Water currents and the food 
supply — Effect of close segregation — Good effects of 
digging — Great variation in salinity not harmful — 
Enemies few 276 



Chapter XIX 

THE LIFE HISTORY OF THE SOFT CLAM 

The breeding season — Destruction of the swimming young — 
Settling to the bottom — The byssus — Attachment and its 
purposes — The creeping period and its dangers — Destruc- 
tion by small starfish — Beginning of the burrowing habit 
— Byssus attachment in the burrow and its purpose — 
Atrophy of the byssus — Final descent into the ground 

Chapter XX 

THE GROWTH OF THE SOFT CLAM AND 
SOME NOTES ON CLAM CULTURE 

First experiments on the growth of Mya — The plan followed 
— Determination of the amount of growth — Specific 
example — Table showing growth of planted clams — Ex- 
periments by the Massachusetts Fish and Game Commis- 
sion — Early attempts at clam culture — The Bridgeport 
experiment — Towns allowed to rent flats — The Essex 
experiment — Peculiarities of the clam set — Immense 
segregations and their causes — Sources of seed for plant- 
ing — How seed clams may be planted — Amount of seed 
to be used — Barren flats available in Massachusetts — 
Public and private ownership of clam shores — Present 
absurd laws— Advantages of clam culture not possessed 



Contents xiii 



by oyster culture — Introduction of Mya into California 
and Washington — Its rapid development — Native clams 
of the Pacific coast 298 

Chapter XXI 

THE HARD CLAM 

Names — Methods of capture — Marketing — Decreases in num- 
ber — Development — First experiments on growth — Creep- 
ing — Effect of sea-weed over beds — No growth in New 
England during the winter — Value of a strong current — 
Wide variation in salinity possible — Few natural enemies 
— Demand for the " little neck " — Culture methods not 
encouraged — Monopoly and destruction of the industry by 
shore towns in New England — Need of legislation — Ob- 
taining seed — Planting on Long Island — Possibilities in 
hard clam culture 321 

Chapter XXII 

THE SCALLOPS 

Only the adductor muscle used for food — Freshening or bloat- 
ing by marketmen — Names — Two Atlantic species used 
for food — Distribution — Eyes — Swimming habits — The 
warm water scallop apparently does not migrate — Method 
of capture — Decrease in number — Development — Swim- 
ming by the foot — Spinning the byssus — Bearing of byssus 
attachment on distribution — The creeping stage in bi- 
valves — Rate of growth depends on food-bearing currents 
— Growth ceases in winter — Actual rate of growth — 
Normal length of life — Its economic bearing — Biological 
problem involved — How to determine whether a scallop 
has spawned — Economic waste in not dredging in- 
dividuals that have spawned — Legislation needed — 
Enemies — Results of scallop culture doubtful — Waste of 
food in America — Failure to utilize marine food mol- 
lusks and fishes — The inhabitants of the sea not all be- 
yond human control 333 

Index 353 



LIST OF PLATES 



FACING 
PAGE 



Anatomy of the Round Clam or " Little Neck " . . . 12 

Anatomy of the Oyster . . . ' 24- 

The Development of the American Oyster .... 44 
Tile Collectors in Place on a Tidal Flat at Auray, France 82 
Arcachon, France. Oyster Parks with Low Clay Walls 82 
Arcvchon. Parks with Somewhat Higher Walls Con- 
taining Cases for the Growing Young 82 

Newly Arranged Collectors of Bamboo on a Tidal Flat 

IN Japan 88 

Oyster Park or Growing Ground in Japan .... 88 

Objects to Which Small Oysters Have Attached . . . 120 
An Iron Mast Hoop from Chesapeake Bay Covered by 

Thousands of Oysters of Various Sizes .... 120 

A Fleet of Gasoline Tonging Boats in Hampton Roads, Va. 130 

Tongers and Cullers at Work on Pamlico Sound, N. C. . 130 
A North Carolina Dredging Schooner, Showing Dredge 

and Hand Windlass 134 

Drawing a More Modern Dredge by Steam Power on the 

New York Oyster Grounds 134 

Steam Dredging Vessel on Long Island Sound .... 136 

Steam Dredging Vessel Owned at New Haven .... 136 

New York Steam Dredging Vessel Towing the Dredges . 136 
A Powerful Ice-breaking Steamer Owned at New Haven, 

Conn 140 

The Largest of the Northern Oyster Fleet .... 140 

Oyster Cluster Covered with Mussels 162 

The Nature of the Crowding in Oyster Clusters . . . 162 
Laboratory Employees Tonging and Culling Clustered 

Oysters in Louisiana 232 

XV 



xvi List of Plates 



FACING 
PAGE 



Natural Growth of " Coon Oyster " Clusters Between 

Tide Lines in South Carolina 232 

Shells of Arca with Young Oysters Attached . . . 262 
Single Oysters Attached to Shells of a Small Clam . . 262 
Holes of Long-neck Clams Very Thickly Set in a Beach 282 
Long-neck Clams Dug from Beneath One Square Foot of 

a Flat . , 282 

Increase in Size in One Year of Clam One Inch Long 

When Planted 304 

Increase in Volume in One Year of Clams in an Experi- 
mental Bed with Slight Current 304 

Box Suspended from a Raft Near a Clam Flat from 

May 15 Until October 15 of the Same Year . . . 312 
Growth of Mya in Two Years on i-ioo of an Acre of a 
Barren Flat 312 




CHAPTER I 

SEA FARMING 

F one were to construct a classification of the 
units of society, he could perhaps most con- 
veniently group them as pessimists and opti- 
mists. It is difficult to determine which is 
the larger group. One is apt to say in his haste that all 
men are pessimists. Whether this really is true or not, 
chronic fault-finders certainly are not rare, and all know 
where to look for the glowing face of the optimist. 
Every one knows the cheerful friend who, while urging 
one to go fishing with him, would turn his back on the 
black cloud rising in the southwest and call attention to 
the little patch of blue remaining in the east to prove the 
impossibility of rain. On large matters of national 
interest, as well as in small affairs, the American public 
has had a long training in optimism. Popular writers, 
and orators on platform and stump, have always taught 
us that ours is the greatest of nations in achievement, and 
that our natural resources are limitless and inexhaustible. 
It may be that general intelligence is sufficiently ad- 
vanced to warrant the introduction of a third group into 
this classification. Whatever name may be given to the 
group, it includes those who, instead of constructing argu- 
ments to substantiate opinions, are interested only in what 
is true. They employ the simple and common sense 
method of modern science, stripping themselves of 



2 Our Food Mollusks 

prejudice and desire, and attempt to see things only as 
they are. 

Assuming this reasonable attitude as fully as possible, 
it is well to consider on its merits the question of the 
future sources of the world's daily bread. Since Malthus, 
more than a century ago, showed that population tended 
to outgrow subsistence, pessimists have declared universal 
famine to be near, while optimists have refused to con- 
sider the matter seriously, or believed that if the worst 
should occur, some chemist would succeed in synthesiz- 
ing proteids from inorganic matter, or that something 
else would turn up to relieve the situation. While there 
is certainly no immediate occasion for alarm over the 
matter, the recent inauguration of an attempt to make a 
national inventory of all of our resources is a triumph of 
common sense. 

Heretofore the young continent has produced a vast 
amount of human food that it has been necessary only to 
gather, while other natural resources — metals, gas, oil, 
coal, lumber, and fertile soils — have seemed to be limitless 
in quantity. Viewing the present conditions as they are, 
without unwarranted encouragement or discouragement, 
it is very clear that preceding generations, giving no 
thought to those who were to follow them, destroyed and 
wasted, without substantial benefit even to themselves, 
sources of natural wealth that, carefully conserved, might 
have provided comfort for many generations. If there is 
any excuse in the fact that our ancestors believed it to be 
impossible to destroy our natural resources, there is none 
for those of the present generation whose greed is delib- 
erately and mercilessly cleaning up what remains, and 
leaving a far-reaching inheritance of ruin. Our criminal 
waste and our indifference to the fate of future genera- 



Sea Farming 3 

tions, have been said, and probably with truth, to be with- 
out precedent in the history of peoples. 

The best of our forests is gone, and their actual extent 
reduced by at least three hundred millions of acres. In 
lumbering and manufacturing, we waste from one-half 
to two-thirds of each tree. The method of lumbering is 
responsible for incalculably destructive fires that often de- 
stroy even the soils on which they occur. Nearly all of 
the waters of the deforested areas go to the seas in dev- 
astating floods, while summer brings its droughts. In 
the South alone, millions of acres of rich agricultural 
lands have been gullied beyond repair. The wonderful 
valleys west of the Cascades in Washington and Oregon, 
now attracting wide attention because of the peculiar fer- 
tility of their soils, and possessing probably more than a 
fourth of the available water-power of the nation, are en- 
dangered by the ruthless destruction of forests. It is 
estimated that a billion feet of natural gas — an ideal fuel 
— is every day allowed to escape from the earth unused, 
and that from one to two tons of coal are wasted in 
mining each ton that is marketed. Worse than all else, 
soils are being robbed. Agriculture is now practically im- 
possible in Nev/ England, and farm values in the agricul- 
tural state of Ohio have suffered a decrease of sixty 
millions of dollars in a decade. All recall the wanton 
nature of the extermination of the buffalo and the 
passenger pigeon. Water-fowl are now rarely seen 
where, thirty years ago, migrating flocks stretched from 
horizon to horizon. The wonderful run of the salmon 
in the rivers of the Pacific slope has until recently been 
S believed to afford an inexhaustible supply of valuable 
food. Beside being put to this use, millions of pounds of 
salmon and herring have each year for a quarter of a cen- 



4 Our Food Mollusks 

tury been utilized on the Pacific coast in the manufacture 
of fertilizer. Cod, mackerel, shad, and other valuable 
food fishes of the Atlantic, within the memory of men 
now living, were many times as abundant as now. At 
the present rate of decrease, the lobster must soon disap- 
pear from our eastern coast. Nearly every natural oyster 
field on the Atlantic has been destroyed. Most of the 
clam flats of New England, once immensely productive, 
are now almost barren. 

But in spite of these depressing facts, there are many 
hopeful conditions to which attention should be given. 
Our natural resources may be separated into two groups, 
namely those consisting of materials accumulated through 
eons of time, which are replaced only by the infinitely 
slow processes of nature, and resources that may be made 
rapidly to perpetuate themselves under human direction 
and control. To the first belong ore deposits, petroleum, 
gas, and coal. These, once consumed, are gone forever. 
The second group includes organisms useful to man. 
Obviously the resources included in the first group should 
be used judiciously and without waste, in the knowledge 
that substitutes for them will one day be required. Those 
of the second group may never disappear. 

While wanton destruction and waste are always deplor- 
able, it must be admitted that even with the greatest care, 
animals and plants useful to man would, if allowed to re- 
main under natural conditions, soon become too few in 
numbers to meet his requirements. The butchery of our 
buffalos by hide-hunters and European " sportsmen " 
naturally excited strong disapproval, but it hurried by 
very few years their extinction, that was inevitable from 
the occupation of their ranges by stockmen and agricultur- 
ists. The great multitudes of pigeons inhabiting the 



Sea Farming 5 

northern states east of the Mississippi half a century ago, 
met their fate largely through the destruction of their 
nesting and feeding places. Fishes, oysters, clams, and 
other animals propagating in a natural state, have rapidly 
decreased when used for food. Even the most prolific 
have proved to be anything but inexhaustible. But even 
if these forms had been used without waste, their final 
failure as sources of food would have been merely post- 
poned. This inevitable destruction only becomes deplor- 
able when it fails to be accompanied by an effort to do- 
mesticate, or in adequate measure to control the perpetua- 
tion of the vanishing form; for such effort in the past has 
in nearly all cases been marvelously successful. Man's 
achievements in domestication have been possible largely 
from the fact that he has nearly always been able to 
overcome in great measure the vast wastefulness of na- 
ture. In a natural state, seed is produced in profusion, 
but its growth is left largely to chance, and its destruction 
is enormous. Usually with little effort on man's part, 
intervention results in a rapid increase in the number of 
individuals. 

Whenever terrestrial animals and plants have been do- 
mesticated, the achievement has consisted not merely in 
accelerating the rate of reproduction, but in controlling 
nearly every condition on which their lives depended, with 
an effect so far-reaching that most of them bear so little 
resemblance in structure and habit to their wild ancestors 
that the relationship would hardly be suspected. Indeed, 
the original forms from which many of them were de- 
rived, have been lost to human tradition and are entirely 
unknown. How great some of these changes are is il- 
lustrated in the many known descendants of a wild 
mustard plant. Among them are the numerous vari- 



6 Our Food Mollusks 

eties of cabbages, cauliflowers, brtissels sprouts, kales, and 
kohlrabis, that are so different from each other and from 
their common parent, in the character of stem, root, leaf, 
and flower, in size, and in color, that it is difficult to be- 
lieve what is known to be true concerning their relation- 
ships. Great changes equally useful to man, have also 
been made in animals on which he has come to depend, 
numerous examples of which will occur to any one. 

But these great results have been worked out on the 
land. Is it possible to hope that the waters also may be 
made productive in any similar manner? The available 
land area will soon be occupied, but here is an immense 
expanse of shallow water along our shores that has al- 
ways yielded a large amount of food. Is it possible that 
this also may be converted into fertile and productive 
gardens and pastures ? 

Though man domesticated food organisms long before 
recorded events began, as some prehistoric remains prove, 
he has not yet seriously given his attention to the possi- 
bilities of sea farming. It is true that along certain lines 
immensely important results have been obtained, but that 
it would be possible greatly to extend them is not to be 
'doubted. The whole subject is one that has been in- 
sufficiently considered. It might be urged with some 
show of reason that as yet there is no necessity for the 
development of sea farming, because our land area is still 
sufficient to meet all requirements of food production. 
But within the next decade or two all of the wheat land 
and probably all of the arable soil of the North American 
continent, not covered by forests, will be occupied, and 
while this is capable of supporting a population very much 
larger than the present one, it would be the part of wis- 
dom now to turn to the sea, in order to determine to what 



Sea Farming 7 

extent it also is capable of producing organisms under a 
system of artificial culture. 

It may also be argued that man is unable successfully to 
give intimate attention to aquatic or even to semi- 
aquatic forms. It might be asked, for example, why 
frogs, that are sold in great numbers in some markets, 
have not been improved by domestication ; or why fishes 
reared from artificially fertilized eggs have not been so 
bred that it would be possible for them to abandon their 
natural habits of feeding and migration, to mature and 
reproduce themselves in captivity. In the first case, the 
answer is that selective breeding, which perhaps would 
not be difficult, has not been attempted. It is perhaps not 
impossible that our markets may some day display 
gigantic frogs that will require water only to drink. As 
to the fishes, the only cases in which the attempt has been 
made to modify structure and habit, have not shown re- 
sults different from those obtained in terrestrial forms, as 
is proved by the very curious modifications exhibited in 
the numerous varieties of Japanese gold-fishes. It must 
be admitted that the domestication of aquatic forms will 
be attended by many difficulties not encountered on the 
land, but there is no good foundation for what appears 
to be the common belief that an attempt to domesticate 
them may not be worth the undertaking. 

It is possible that some marine animals, on account of 
their habits, can never be really domesticated. Such are 
fishes that make long seasonal migrations, or that, as the 
^almon, make one migration into fresh water to spawn 
and perish, at a definite period in life. But even in these 
cases the human agency may become vastly helpful in the 
matter of their propagation. At various points along the 
Atlantic coast, the eggs of shad are hatched in the sta- 



8 Our Food Mollusks 

tions of the United States Bureau of Fisheries, and cared 
for through the early period of hfe, during which de- 
struction is greatest in a state of nature. The losses 
under this care are few, and the young fishes, now much 
better able to care for themselves, are liberated to pass the 
remainder of their lives in a natural state. There are 
good reasons for the belief that the shad would have be- 
come practically extinct years ago, if this method of 
artificial propagation had not been practised. The num- 
bers of several species of fishes are maintained in the 
same manner. 

In the case of one marine form not included in the 
group of fishes, very remarkable success has attended the 
employment of culture methods. The culture of the 
native oyster of the Atlantic coast, the simple beginnings 
of which date back only half a century, affords the one 
great demonstration that we at present possess of the possi- 
bilities of sea farming; and the extent and value of the in- 
dustry depending on it are very significant. It is the pur- 
pose of the following chapters to set forth the achieve- 
ment of the oyster culturist, and to show that other food 
mollusks, now rapidly disappearing, may also be made 
very much more abundant than they ever have been under 
natural conditions. 

And why should this work not be extended? To be- 
gin, we should know that the sea contains immense quan- 
tities of nutritious and palatable food, of which no use 
is made. The Agricultural Department is searching all 
the corners of the earth for useful plants with a view to 
habituating them to our own soils and climates. Why 
should the effort not be made to introduce on our own 
shores marine food organisms from other seas ? Probably 
quite by accident, our eastern long neck clam was in- 



Sea Farming 9 

troduced on the Pacific coast, where it has now spread 
over large areas. Why may not some of the more 
valuable of the bivalves of the western coast be reared 
artificially in the colder waters of the Atlantic? The 
Japanese possess a larger and better oyster than the native 
form of the Pacific, found in Washington and California. 
It is perhaps not superior to our eastern oyster, but the 
latter is not able to reproduce in the cold Pacific waters, 
in which possibly the Japanese form would thrive. The 
state of Louisiana is about to make the attempt to estab- 
lish the hard clam or " little neck," found near the Chan- 
deleur Islands, on its coast west of the delta of the Mis- 
sissippi, where shore bottoms are now entirely barren, but 
on which conditions seem to be favorable for the ex- 
istence of this valuable food mollusk. There are nearly 
everywhere similar opportunities to utilize waste and bar- 
ren places on our shores. And without becoming unduly 
optimistic over the matter, we are probably warranted 
in expecting that, when the experiments are made, many 
forms beside the cod, the shad and other fishes, the oyster, 
and the clam, will prove to be more or less perfectly 
responsive to the new conditions that the human agency 
shall determine. 

A most auspicious beginning has been made of what 
may in time become the. artificial control of very many 
useful marine organisms. Why should the sea and its in- 
habitants be regarded as essentially untameable? There 
is something about the vastness of its resources that ap- 
peals strongly to the imagination. Who is able to stand 
unmoved before the awful demonstration of power that 
the waves make on a shore? We possess no means of 
measuring the force of the tides. Even those who pro- 
fess to be shocked at the thought of utilitarianism in con- 



lo Our Food Mollusks 

nection with nature's grand displays of force, may find 
poetry in the thought that, by methods, some of which are 
already known, much of this vast and purposeless waste 
of energy may be made to undergo a magical transforma- 
tion into comforts that would lighten the heavy load of 
human toil, and make human experiences happier and 
more ennobling. The potential fertility of the sea, also, 
is sufficient, when use shall be made of it, largely to 
supply man's greatest need. 




CHAPTER II 

NOTES ON THE ANATOMY OF THE FOOD 
MOLLUSKS 

OME time before the publication of Darwin's 
" Origin of Species " in 1859, a few natu- 
ralists had come to believe that similarity in 
structure in different species of animals or 
plants could be explained only on the assumption that 
these species were more closely related to each other than 
to other species. To them it seemed unlikely that the 
many points of resemblance in structure and habit to 
be found in comparing scores of varieties or species 
of violets, for example, could mean anything but a rela- 
tionship between them. From the analogy afforded by 
different breeds of domesticated animals, known to be 
derived from a common parent form, it seemed reason- 
able to assume that several kinds of thrushes, or of crows, 
of squirrels, hares, or similar groups of species differing 
only slightly from each other in nature, had descended 
one from another or from common ancestors. 

But this view was then founded merely on analogy 
and met with little favor. The world continued to hold 
tenaciously to the still less reasonable hypothesis that each 
species of animal and plant had originated independently 
in an act of special creation. According to this tradi- 
tional belief, no relationship existed between different 
species. The Creator of the animate world had decided 



12 Our Food Mollusks 

upon several types of organisms, and each new creation 
was made to conform more or less closely to one of them. 
Having become a religious dogma, this idea was so firmly 
fixed that it required a revolution in popular thought to 
destroy it. The publication of Darwin's first great book 
accomplished this end. 

The " Origin of Species " showed how natural forces 
now in operation might produce new species from parent 
forms. It presumed that the same forces had been 
operating on organisms in the same way since the dawn 
of life. According to this view, all living organisms have 
a real relationship to each other, recent or remote. As a 
rule, great differences in structure indicate distant, as 
great similarities indicate close relationships. 

On account of fundamental similarities in develop- 
ment, structure, and habit, which exist among oysters, 
clams, scallops, mussels, and other members of the lamelli- 
branch family, no naturalist now doubts that they 
descended from some common ancestor, which, however, 
must have lived in the very remote past, as man meas- 
ures time. What this ancestral form was, is not posi- 
tively known; but naturalists have agreed on what must 
have been the general characters of many of its organs. 
Why they should have a positive belief in regard to a 
creature that no one ever saw, even in fossil form, is a 
long story; but the reasons for it, if they were explained, 
would probably be satisfactory to most minds. 

Among the very few bivalves here considered, it is 
not easy to determine which, in its structure, conforms 
most closely to the hypothetical ancestor. It is not the 
black mussel, with its aborted foot and anterior adductor 
muscle, and its sexual glands in the mantle folds. It is 
not the scallop, in which much of the body is modified to 



Anatomy of the Food Mollusks 13 

conform to the swimming habit. Certainly it is not the 
degenerate oyster that has completely lost the organ of 
locomotion, and the anterior adductor muscle. Probably 
it is not the soft clam, for in it, also, the ancient foot is 
greatly reduced. Of the short list, the hard clam, Venus 
mercenaria, probably has a greater number of organs that 
are most like those of the ancestral bivalve, though some, 
like the gills, depart much farther from the primitive con- 
dition of those organs than do those of the mussel and 
scallop. But because Venus, not by any means one of the 
more primitive of living bivalves, is somewhat the more 
simple of the species here described, it may illustrate best 
some of the anatomical characters common to them all. 

The Shell. The hard protective covering of Venus 
consists of right and left parts known as valves. It is 
composed of carbonate of lime, which is deposited in a 
viscous secretion poured out by the fleshy mantle fold 
lining its inner surfaces. On the shore, one sometimes 
finds valves of clams or other bivalves, recently dead, 
that are united on the upper or dorsal side by a piece of 
stiff, elastic substance, resembling rubber. This is known 
as the shell ligament. The position of its attachment to 
the shell is represented in Figure i (/). 

Just within the ligament, each valve bears prominent 
ridges or teeth that fit into corresponding depressions in 
the opposite valve. This mechanism, serving to hold the 
two parts of the shell in their proper relative positions, is 
called the hinge. It may be noticed that the shells of 
dead bivalves are always open at the under or ventral 
margin. In the living animal, lying quite undisturbed 
in the water, a slight gaping of the valves may also be 
observed; but when the animal is disturbed, the valves 




H 



Our Food MoUusks 



close. An attempt to pry them open will show that they 
are held together with great force. The closing mecha-| 
nism consists of two cylindrical bundles of muscle fibers, 
known as the anterior and {)osterior adductors, running 
directly across from one valve to the other. The ends | 
of these muscles, severed from the left valve, are shown 
in the figure (a a and p o). 

The functional relations of ligament, hinge, and 
muscle, may be understood by referring to the text figure 

(Figure 2), which repre- 
sents a transverse section of 
the shell in the region of 
hinge and ligament. The 
rubbery ligament (/) occu- 
pies such a position and is of 
such a width, that when the 
adductors (a m) contract, 
the hinge (h) acts as a ful- 
crum, and the ligament is 
stretched. On the relaxation 
of the muscles, the mechani- 
cal contraction of the liga- 
ment, acting on the hinge, 
causes the lower edges of 
the shell to separate. 

Examining the outer sur- 
face of a valve, there is to be noticed, far dorsal ward and 
forward, in Venus, a rounded prominence, the umbo, so 
called on account of its fancied resemblance to the boss of v 
a shield. Its position on the shell varies in different 
bivalves, and in some it is very inconspicuous or absent 
altogether. 

From the umbo as a center, concentric lines of growth 




Fig. 2. — Transverse section of 
the shell of Venus to show 
relations of ligament (/), 
hinge (/;), and adductor 
muscles (a m). 



I 



Anatomy of the Food Mollusks 15 

spread over the entire outer surface (Figure 64). Each 
represents what was, at one time, the edge of the shell. 
A cross section of a tree trunk reveals similar concentric 
growth lines. Each line in the section marks the cessa- 
tion of growth in the fall and its resumption in the spring, 
so that the years of a tree's life are recorded in them. 
From such an analogy it might be assumed that the 
growth lines on a bivalve shell indicate its age, also ; but 
the analogy is misleading. Most shells, like that of 
Venus, possess fine and closely crowded, as well as con- 
spicuous lines, all irregularly arranged. While they rep- 
resent successive deposits of lime, many are formed in a 
summer, and no idea of age may be had from them. Dif- 
ferences in their distinctness and size are probably due to 
the irregular action of weather, tide, temperature, and the 
abundance or scarcity of food. 

The mantle edge secretes a thin, dark colored, rubbery 
coat that is applied to the outer surface of the shell. This 
probably is produced to prevent the dissolution of lime, 
especially in the young. In some bivalves, this cuticle, 
as it is called, is so thick and tough that it performs its 
function perfectly throughout life; but in most cases it 
wears away, especially on the older part of the shell, and 
the lime is slowly dissolved. The addition of new shell 
to the inner surface may keep pace with this, but in the 
case of clams living in foul mud, in which humus acids 
are abundant, the shell is sometimes perforated and the 
animal dies. Very little of the cuticle is to be found on 
the shells of adult oysters, clams, or scallops. 

Closely connected with the addition of new layers to the 
inner surface of the shell, is the formation of pearls. 
These precious structures are merely shell formations un- 
attached to the valve. Their shape has much to do with 



i6 Our Food Mollusks 

their value. Their hue and iridescence also are im- 
portant. Most of the pearls of commerce come from the 
so-called pearl-oyster of the Indian Ocean. This mollusk, 
however, is only distantly related to edible oysters. 
Pearls have been found in the bodies of most bivalves, 
and those from several species are valuable. Fresh water 
clams, especially in the streams and lakes of the central 
states, produce pearls of great beauty. Every one has 
found them in our oysters. These are usually small, 
though sometimes very symmetrical in outline, but are 
not valuable, as they are not iridescent. 

Pearls, really abnormal shell growths, are formed by 
the introduction of some foreign object between the 
mantle and the shell. This body becomes a nucleus about 
which the sticky secretion of the mantle accumulates. 
Just as in the case of the shell layers, lime is deposited 
in this sticky coating. Successive layers are added and 
the pearl gradually increases in size. The foreign bodies 
acting as centers about which the pearly layers are ac- 
cumulated, have been shown, in some cases, to be small 
parasitic worms. It is easy to determine experimentally, 
however, that an inert body like a grain of sand, will also 
become coated with pearly layers. Professor Brooks, in 
his book on the oyster, writes of the miraculous origin of 
the sacred clam shells of the Chinese Buddhists. He 
says : — " The inside of the shell has a beautiful pearl 
luster, and along it is a row of little fat images of Bud- 
dha, squatting with his legs crossed under him, and his 
elbows on his knees : they are formed of pearl precisely 
like that which lines the rest of the shell, a little raised 
above its surface, and outlined in faint relief, but they 
are part of the shell, with no break or joint. In the 
process of manufacturing them, the shell of the living 



Anatomy of the Food Mollusks 17 

animal is wedged open, and thin images, punched out of a 
slieet of bell-metal, are inserted. The animal is then re- 
turned to the water, and is left there until enough new 
shell has been formed to cover them with a varnish of 
pearl thick enough to cover them, and to hide the metal, 
while permitting the raised outline to be seen." 

Pearl growth is really very common. Fresh water 
clams, of which there are scores of varieties, exhibit it 
with great frequency. But usually it will be found that 
the pearl has become fastened to the shell. Even when 
these growths are large, they cannot be removed and 
ground into a symmetrical form, because abrasion of the 
surface destroys their luster. It is only the large, sym- 
metrical growths, which have not been glued to the shell 
during their formation, that have great commercial value, 
and these are relatively very rare. 

There is often considerable variation in the shapes of 
shells, especially in oysters and long-neck clams. This is 
often due, in the case of the former, to the close crowding 
of individuals, and in the latter, to pressure against ob- 
jects in the walls of the burrow. When young oysters 
crowd each other closely, after their attachment, the di- 
rect effect is that the shells grow narrow and become 
greatly elongated. If a clam in its burrow presses against 
an unyielding obstruction, the growing shell will be dis- 
torted by conforming to the outline of the object. 

Right and left valves are normally symmetrical in most 
bivalves, but in the oyster there is a great inequality. The 
animal is attached by the left valve, which is very much 
larger than the right. It forms the stony box in which 
the soft parts of the body lie, and the right valve is little 
more than a lid to the box. In the embryo, the valves are 
of the same size, and are perfectly symmetrical. This 



1 8 Our Food Mollusks 

was undoubtedly the condition of the distant ancestors 
of the oysters, which were unattached. The habit of at- 
tachment is of great vakie, for oysters are permanently 
held in favorable localities above the soft mud of the bot- 
toms, which might otherwise smother them. 

The primary function of the shell, of course, is protec- 
tion. But in spite of its hardness and toughness, it some- 
times fails. There is a mighty and unceasing struggle in 
nature in which every organism strives to obtain necessary 
''nourishment, and at the same time to protect itself against 
its enemies. The shells of bivalves have become strong, 
but at the same time their enemies, which must in some 
way obtain food or perish, have developed special organs 
for crushing or penetrating them. The jaws of the drum- 
fish of Atlantic and Gulf waters, for example, have be- 
come so powerful that they are able to crush even the 
strong shell of an oyster. But it is interesting to observe 
that there is difficulty in doing this; for if the task were an 
easy one, these fishes might be able to cause the extinction 
of the race of oysters. Drumfish are able to dispose of 
small oysters which the oyster culturist has separated and 
scattered over the bottom to grow, but they experience so 
great difficulty with oyster clusters on the natural beds, 
that their mouths are often badly lacerated in their 
desperate attempts to obtain food from them. The 
sheepsheads, fish with jaws armed with large, hard 
teeth, crush the relatively thin shells of young oysters. 
Among the deadliest enemies of bivalves are some of 
their own distant cousins, snail-like mollusks which pos- 
sess, in the end of a proboscis, a rasping or boring organ 
which slowly cuts through the hardest shell, and allows 
the creature to feed on the pulpy tissues within. 

There is at least one phase of what is called the struggle 



Anatomy of the Food Mollusks 19 

for existence among organisms that popularly is very 
little appreciated. It is that the battle, which never ceases, 
is, in almost all cases, nicely drawn — so delicately bal- 
anced through long periods of time, that any slight ad- 
vantage on one side or the other may result in the more 
or less complete extinction of one, or even of several 
interdependent species. At one time newspaper reports 
informed us that ordnance and projectiles had become so 
perfected that the armor of war vessels afforded little 
real protection. Later it was stated that armor-plates had 
been made so hard and tough that they could be pene- 
trated or broken only with great difficulty. Yet improve- 
ments in both go on, and the layman understands that 
there is a nicely balanced contest for supremacy between 
them. Everywhere in nature, also, weapons of defense 
and offense are slowly being perfected, but in the test of 
actual warfare. A harder armor in the oyster and other 
mollusks might possibly deprive drumfish and certain 
marine snails of so much food that their ranks would at 
least be reduced; and stronger and harder jaws in the 
drumfish might result in the annihilation of oysters liv- 
ing in the warmer waters of our coast. This balance in 
the struggle among organisms sometimes is upset, and 
fossil remains show that, as a consequence, many great 
races, both of animals and plants, have suddenly declined, 
and then completely disappeared from the earth. 

The Mantle. This structure has been referred to as a 
flap or fold of tissue that grows out from each side of the 
body, expanding so as to line the inner surface of the 
shell. Figure i shows the edge of the mantle lying 
parallel to the margin of the shell ; but a much better idea 
of it is given by Figure 3, which represents the body of 



20 Our Food Mollusks I 

the oyster lying in its left valve. Here, as in many hi- | 
valves, the margin is provided with projections or ten- 
tacles, capable of some extension, and acting as sensitive 
touch'organs. Certain parts of this edge are sensitive to 
changes in the intensity of light, and in the scallop there 
are developed eyes so perfect in function that moving ob- 
jects are seen at a distance of several yards. It is evi- 
dent that this is the only part of the body where visual 
organs would be of any use. 

In the two forms here illustrated, the mantle folds be- 
low are separate from each other. In some bivalves, the 
soft clam for example, there is an extensive fusion of the 
edges, so that the mantle chamber becomes an enclosed 

space. 

Venus is a form that spends most of its time burrowed 
in the bottom just deep enough to cover the shell. As in 
all other burrowing lamellibranchs, two tubes, the ; 
siphons (Figure i), grow out from the mantle posteri- | 
orly, their purpose being to reach up to the water. '. 
Through the lower one a stream, bringing food and ; 
oxygen, enters the branchial or mantle chamber. After 
passing through the gills, the water is discharged through 
the upper tube. These siphon tubes are very long in the 
soft clam, which burrows many inches into the bottom. 

In addition to these functions, the mantle of forms i 
that possess a large, distensible foot, serves as a blood j 
reservoir, and thus probably functions as the chief organ ' 
of respiration; for the blood here is separated from the , 
water only by the very thin mantle walls. 

The Digestive Tract. Referring again to the figure 
illustrating the hard or round clam, it will be observed 
that the mantle fold, the two gill folds that hang down on 



Anatomy of the Food Mollusks 21 

the sides of the body, and the body wall itself, have been 
removed so as to expose the digestive tract and other in- 
ternal organs. In most animals that possess a tubular 
digestive tract, the mouth is to be found at the forward 
or anterior end of the body, and the rule holds in this case. 
Usually, also, this opening into the digestive tract is 
situated in a modified part of the body that may be called 
a head. This was probably true of the very early an- 
cestors of the bivalves, but as the result of the develop- 
ment of a shell completely covering the body, the head of 
all living bivalves has disappeared as a distinctly modi- 
fied region. For this reason they are sometimes called 
Acephala. 

The mouth is not shown in either of the illustrations, 
but its position in the oyster is indicated. The opening is 
hidden by a pair of huge folds or lips, one placed in front 
of, and the other behind it. These labial palps extend, 
right and left, far out from the mouth, and are shown in 
both figures. In Figure 3, the front or anterior palp on 
the right side has been partially removed, and the inner 
surface (that nearest the mouth) of the inner palp is 
exposed. The organs are so situated that they may come 
in contact with the anterior margins of the gills. The 
latter are collectors of the microscopic food, which they 
pass forward, by ciliary action — cilia being minute hairs 
that cover various surfaces and have a rapid lashing 
movement — to the inner surfaces of the palps. Over 
these, in turn, it may continue forward to the mouth. 
As will be shown later, when material is too abundant on 
the palps, it is not directed to the mouth, but to tracts 
that carry it out of the body. 

The mouth, having the form of a funnel, leads directly 
into the oesophagus. This tube may be traced backward 



22 Our Food Mollusks 

to its opening into the stomach. As represented in the 
figure, the latter appears as a simple dilation of the di- 
gestive tube. Surrounding it on all sides, are the digestive 
glands, which pour their secretion into it through short 
but wide ducts. The digestive glands constitute what 
is commonly called the liver in anatomical descriptions of 
many invertebrate animals; but it is not similar to the 
liver of vertebrates, either in structure or function. Its 
secretion has the power of rendering fluid and changing 
chemically the digestible parts of the food. The gland 
is always of a dark color, that varies somewhat in dif- 
ferent bivalves, and every one has noticed it in the rup- 
tured bodies of oysters and clams. 

The intestine arises from the posterior end of the 
stomach. Its course is downward and backward, and 
in the lower part of the body it bends in a way character- 
istically different in different bivalves, before finally as- 
cending to the region in front of the heart. Coursing 
straight backward on the dorsal side of the body, it passes 
directly through the heart in most bivalves, and then 
over the posterior adductor muscle where it ends, the anal 
opening of the tube being so situated that the strong 
current of water leaving the body immediately carries 
away the fecal matter. The parts of the digestive tract 
in other bivalves have much the same arrangement. 

The Vascular System. It rarely happens that the 
blood of invertebrate animals is colored, though there 
are one or two exceptions to it even in the bivalve group. 
In our edible mollusks, it is a nearly colorless fluid, cir- 
culating through the body along very definite paths. As 
in all other cases, it carries liquid food obtained from the 
walls of the digestive tract, and oxygen received in the 
gills and mantle, to all the living tissues of the body. At 



Anatomy of the Food Mollusks 23 

the same time it gathers up waste material resulting from 
muscular activities, and as it flows through the walls of 
the excretory organs, or kidneys, certain cells of the 
latter have the power of removing these substances. 

The heart is situated on the dorsal side of the body 
under the hinge of the shell, in Venus. By opening the 
delicate wall of the chamber in which it lies, it is seen to 
be made up of three parts. On the mid-line of the back, 
is a large sac, with filmy muscular walls, which is called 
the ventricle. It is by the contraction of these walls that 
blood is forced to various parts of the body through two 
arteries, one running forward, and the other backward. 
Joining the ventricle on either side are two auricles, sacs 
even more filmy and delicate. Their office is to pump into 
the ventricle blood which they receive from the gills. 

It has been stated that the intestine courses through the 
ventricle from before backward. This is true of the 
clams and of most other bivalves. But in the oyste.r and 
scallop, the heart has been moved to a position below the 
intestine. The oyster's heart may very easily be found by 
picking away the thin wall just in front of the large ad- 
ductor muscle so as to expose it as it lies in its chamber 
(Figure 3). It is the common belief among oystermen 
that the adductor {pa) itself is the heart, and that when 
it is cut, the animal is at once killed. The fact is that if 
one valve of the shell is very carefully removed, and the 
animal is placed in a favorable current of water, it will 
continue to live for days. 

The Excretory System. The organs for removing 
waste matters formed as a result of muscular and other 
activities are usually difficult to observe. In the simplest 
cases among our edible mollusks, they are dark colored 
tubes, one on each side of the mid-line of the body, open- 



24 Our Food Mollusks 

ing by one end into the chamber in which the heart Hes, 
and by the other to the exterior of the body near the 
base of the gills. Their position is shown in Figure i, n. 
Waste matter is extracted from the blood as it flows 
through the walls of these kidneys, and is discharged to 
the exterior through the outer opening of the tube. 

These nephridia, as they are technically called, may be. 
seen directly exposed as conspicuous swellings on the 
under side of the large adductor muscle of the scallop, 
but in the other forms their examination is difficult. 

The Sexual Organs. As a rule, our edible mollusks 
are of separate sexes, though there are no secondary 
sexual characters that will enable one to distinguish 
male from female. The small warm water scallop ( Pec- 
ten irradians), found from Cape Cod to Texas, is her- 
maphroditic, that is, possesses both male and female 
sexual glands. Hermaphroditism is a very common 
condition among lower animals and among plants t 
where it occurs, it usually happens that the two kin ^^ of 
sexual cells come to maturity at different times, in order 
to prevent self-fertilization. The breeding together even 
of nearly related animals, usually tends to produce weak 
offspring. The sexes are separate in the northern or 
giant scallop, and in Venus and Mya. This is also true 
of the oyster, while its near relative, the European flat 
oyster, is hermaphroditic. 

Because the losses among young bivalves are so enor- 
mous, immense numbers of eggs are produced. Fifty 
or sixty millions would be a conservative estimate of 
the actual number discharged by a large female oyster 
during a single breeding season. Though the eggs are 
minute, they are large enough to be distinguished by the 
unaided eye. The sexual glands constitute the greater 




;^ 



o o 






o ^> 






:' ''U 



Anatomy of the Food Mollusks 25 

part of the pulpy body, being packed around the diges- 
tive tract, extending down into the base of the foot, in 
the quahaug, and backward in the oyster and scallop so 
as nearly to surround the adductor muscle. The ducts 
through which the sexual cells are discharged, open, one 
on each side of the body, near the bases of the gills, 
though in the scallop and some other lamellibranchs, 
the opening is into the tube of the nephridium. 

The breeding season comes in the late spring and early 
summer. All through the winter the body is swelling with, 
the accumulating sexual cells, and it is then, of course, 
more valuable as a food. For several weeks the sexual 
products are gradually discharged. By the middle of 
the summer the body has become comparatively thin and 
watery, especially in the soft clams, and remains so until 
fall or early winter. Oysters, and probably clams also, 
living in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, continue 
to spawn through the summer, and the former, in these 
localities, produce a few eggs during every month of 
the year. 

It is often asked why oysters are not generally mar- 
keted and eaten during the summer months, but the 
reason is not that oysters are then somewhat less full 
and nutritious, although that happens to be the case. 
Reason plays no part in determining many human habits 
and customs. The answer is simply that it is the custom 
to eat oysters in winter and not in summer. It is the 
custom south of Long Island Sound to eat " little necks " 
— small, hard, or round clams — during the summer, and 
to refrain from eating long neck clams. Just as it is the 
custom, across the sound in Rhode Island, and in other 
New England states, to use the long neck clams during 
the summer in the famous clam-bake. The truth is that 



26 Our Food Mollusks 

none of the bivalves are quite so good for food from 
July to September; but the critical insight of the person 
who declares an oyster stew or a clam-bake in August 
to be failures from a gastronomical point of view, is 
very much to be questioned. There is no very good 
reason, except the difficulty of transporting and keeping 
long neck clams, why all of our food mollusks should 
not be marketed during the summer. 

The Nervous System. In a great many inverte- 
brates, the central nervous system possesses one chief 
ganglion, or pair of ganglia, situated in the anterior part 
of the body. But in the bivalves there are three pairs 
of large ganglia : one, the pair of cerebrals, in the region 
of the mouth; a second, the pedals, in the base of the 
foot ; and a third, the viscerals, close against the under 
side of the posterior adductor muscle. 

The ganglia of the cerebral pair are often separated, 
being placed on the right and left sides of the mouth. 
These are connected by a strand or commissure of nerve 
fibers crossing in front of the mouth. The two pedal 
ganglia, connected with the cerebrals by a pair of com- 
missures, are partially fused together. They supply the 
muscles of the foot with nerves. The viscerals are the 
largest, and are fused together into a single ganglion 
from which nerves are given off to the gills and mantle. 
A pair of commissures also unites visceral and cerebral 
ganglia. 

Structurally this nervous system seems to be simple, 
when compared with that of higher animals, and one is 
apt to lose sight of the very complex functions that it 
really performs. The responses of the attached and 
greatly degenerated oyster seem to be few and simple. 
Superficially regarded, its functions, except those per- 



Anatomy of the Food Mollusks 27 

formed automatically by cilia, over which the nervous 
system has no control, are almost limited to opening and 
closing the shell. It w^ill be shown, however, that even in 
this degenerated form, many wonderful responses of the 
nervous system to various stimuli occur, by means of 
which this automatic ciliary mechanism is rendered ef- 
fective in inducing activities that result in the acceptance 
of microscopic food particles from the water, and the 
rejection of useless material. 

The Foot. This organ, which is characteristic of the 
Mollusca, is simply a muscular thickening of the under 
or ventral wall of the body. It varies greatly in size, 
shape, and position in various bivalves, but the chief 
features of its primitive form are probably represented 
in Venus. Here the entire ventral wall is thickened, 
forming an organ having some resemblance to a plow- 
share, the point projecting forward. Though the adult 
hard clam, and many others having a similar foot, seem 
more or less completely to have abandoned the habit of 
creeping, a few adult bivalves possessing a locomotor 
organ of the same general character use it for that pur- 
pose, sometimes covering considerable distances. The 
very young of the long neck clam, mussel, and scallop 
possess a foot much like that of the adult Venus, and all 
are active creepers. Later in life the organ becomes 
relatively much reduced in size and modified in form, and 
in each the creeping habit is gradually abandoned. Be- 
cause of the early form and function of the foot in these 
species — and the same will probably be found to be true 
of many other bivalves — it may be assumed that the 
ancestral organ was large, covering the entire ventral side 
of the body and projecting far forward, and that its 
primary function was that of creeping. 



28 Our Food Mollusks 

The descendants of these ancient forms, adapting 
themselves to various new modes of living, found new 
uses for the foot which gradually became modified to 
perform these functions more perfectly. Burrowing was 
one of these habits. It is well demonstrated by the 
young of the long neck and little neck clams, that thrust 
and worm the sharpened anterior end of the foot into the 
bottom, then expand it so that it acts as an anchor. 
Special muscles (shown in the figure of Venus) extend- 
ing from the base of the organ to an attachment on the 
shell, then contract and draw the body down into the 
bottom. This is repeated until the desired depth is 
reached. 

In the black mussel and the young of the shallow 
water scallop of the Atlantic, the foot performs a very 
special function, that of shaping and attaching the an- 
chor threads of the byssus. The byssus gland is an 
organ developed in the ventral tissues of the foot, near 
its posterior margin. It produces a viscous secretion 
that hardens in coming in contact with water, forming 
threads of great strength. It is also present and func- 
tional in young little neck and long neck clams. 

In the smaller scallop and black mussel, there is a 
groove on the under side of the foot, extending from the 
opening of the byssus gland to the end of the foot, where 
it expands into a diamond-shaped cavity. This cavity 
remains open below, while the groove is temporarily 
converted into a closed tube by the folding together of 
its edges. The foot is stretched out from the body, the 
end placed against some foreign object, and the fluid 
is poured out through the tube. When this is opened, 
water comes in contact with the secretion, which instantly 
hardens into a thread, and the foot is withdrawn to be 



I 



Anatomy of the Food Mollusks 29 

extended in anotlier direction. The process is repeated 
until several threads are formed. Though the mussel 
remains attached during its life, it is possible for it to 
cast off the byssus at its base and form a new one. The 
scallop has the same habit, but attaches less frequently 
after attaining the adult condition. In the clams the 
byssus disappears early in life. 

Still another use is made of the foot in a few cases. 
The large sea-clam (Mactra) of the north Atlantic 
coast, is able to leap a distance of several inches, when 
out of the water, by a quick movement of the organ, 
and it is not difficult to see how such a habit may, at 
times, be useful to it. There are some cases in which 
bivalves are able even to swim short distances by a rapid 
paddle-like movement of the foot. 

Finally it is to be noticed that in the oyster, the foot, 
although present in the very young, early begins to dis- 
appear, and soon completely vanishes. This is presum- 
ably the result of the mode of life inaugurated by the 
attachment of the shell to some object on the bottom, for 
the foot is then of no use. 

The Gills or Branchiae. The gills are the most 
complicated organs of the lamellibranch body. They, 
like the foot, have been greatly changed from the primi- 
tive condition to conform to various modes of life which 
characterize different species. So many of the activities 
of bivalves depend on them, and so much also concern- 
ing their functions is of importance to those who use 
oysters and clams for food, that they should be thor- 
oughly understood. No one, for example, who knows 
how these organs continually strain from the water the 
minutest solid particles, and hold them tenaciously, can 
have any doubt about their power to collect the organ- 



30 Our Food Mollusks 

isms of typhoid fever and other germ diseases, especially 
intestinal diseases, from infected waters. 

The organs are exposed when the mantle flaps are 
lifted, and there are seen to be two of them on each side 
of the body, one lying nearly over the other. In the 
figure of Venus, they are represented as being cut off 
near their bases. In the oyster the gills have been moved 
from this position on the sides of the body so as to lie 
in four parallel folds on its ventral margin (Figure 3). 
Behind the body the four gills unite so as to separate 
a space above, the cloacal chamber, from the large mantle 
chamber below. With the unaided eye, it may be seen 
that each gill is vertically striated. Although at first 
sight a gill appears to be a solid fold of tissue, closer 
examination shows it to be made of two plates or 
lamellae (from which the name Lamellibranchiata, some- 
times given to the bivalve group, is derived), which en- 
close a space between them. Each lamella, also, is com- 
posed of a great number of parallel, hollow rods, the gill 
filaments, placed regularly, side by side, so that the plate, 
as represented in a diagram (Figure 4), has a re- 
semblance to a picket fence. Each filament corresponds 
to a picket, the lamella to the fence, and the entire gill 
to two parallel fences. The spaces between the filaments 
allow water to enter the interior of the gill. 

In one important respect, the illustration of the par- 
allel fences fails. If we trace a single gill filament from 
the base of a lamella down to the free lower margin of 
the gill, we will find that it does not end there, but bends 
and continues upward as one of the filaments of the other 
lamella. 

As these rods or filaments are very delicate and much 
elongated, their regular position might easily become dis- 



i 



Anatomy of the Food Mollusks 



31 



tnrbed if there were no means of binding them together. 
Such a means is always provided, but it is different in 
diff'erent bivalves. The two halves or lamellae of the 
gill must also be bound together by cross partitions to 
prevent their spreading apart, and they, too, are always 
present. 

The simplest gills among our edible mollusks are 
found in the black mussel (Mytilus edulis). A single 



I 




Fig. 4. — Diagram of the gill of the mussel (Mytilus 
edulis). The filaments (/) are bound together 
by round patches of cilia shown at c. Trans- 
verse bands of tissue or interlamellar unions (iu), 
hold the two walls or lamellae of the gill together. 

filament, isolated from the gill, is shown in Figure 5. 
The reference-letter b is placed at its point of origin from 
the body, b is the descending, and a the ascending 
limb. At the bend, which marks the lower edge of the 
gill, the filament is notched, and many of these notches 
placed side by side form a groove on the gill margin, 
along which food is carried forward to the palp. One 
of the interlamellar unions is shown at ? n. 

The relative position of the filaments is shown in 



I 



32 



Our Food MoUusks 




Fig. s. — Single 
filament of 
the gill of 
the black 
mussel. The 
ref erence- 
letter b 
marks the 
point of 
origin from 
the side of 
the body, d 
is the de- 
sc e n d i n g 
and a the 
ascending 
limb of the 
filament, / u 
an inter- 
lamellar 
union, and c 
one of the 
patches of 
cilia uniting 
contiguous 
filaments. 



Figure 4. The two rows of tubes represent 
the outer and inner lamellae. Along 
regular horizontal lines are found the inter- 
filamentar unions (c). They are small, 
rounded patches, slightly elevated from the 
sides of the filaments, the cells of which bear 
long cilia or hairs. These tufts of cilia are 
placed opposite each other on contiguous 
filaments, and are intermingled much as one 
might interlock the bristles of two paint 
brushes by pushing them together. This 
intermingling of straight hairs is sometimes 
disrupted, but they have a slight oscillatory 
movement, and on being brought in contact, 
soon work together as before. The inter- 
lamellar unions (i u) are bands of tissue 
reaching across the cavity of the gill, and 
uniting the two limbs of the same filament. 
The gills of Pecten (Figure 6) are es- 
sentially like these, but are more specialized 
in that, at fairly regular intervals, a filament 
has become greatly enlarged, in order to 
support firmly the interlamellar partition 
which it develops. Another difference is 
that the filaments between these, instead of 
lying in a straight line, bend outward in 
a fold. Such an arrangement allows of a 
greater number of filaments in a gill. The 
interfilamentar unions in the scallop are 
ciliary, but the cilia, instead of appearing on 
patches as in the mussel, are borne on spurs 
that project from the filament into the in- 
terior cavity of the gill, as shown at c s. 



Anatomy of the Food Mollusks 33 

In the giant or northern scallop, cilia unite some of 
the filaments near the free margin of the gill, but near its 




Fig. 6. — A portion of the gill of the scallop (Pecten irradians) 
showing the folding of lamellae. The reference-letter / 
designates one of the filaments. The letters cs indicate 
ciliated spurs that are sectioned, and i u an interlamellar 
union. 



base they are joined by bands of fine tissue, thus form- 
ing a much more stable union. This growing together 
of adjacent filaments becomes very much more extensive 
in the clams and the oysters. 

Comparing the gill of the little neck clam, Venus, with 
that of the scallop, we find the same folding of the 
lamellae, and largely developed interlamellar partitions. 
But the filaments are small and all of the same size. The 
greatest difference in the two cases is that in Venus 
the filaments have grown together very extensively on 
their inner margins, leaving mere slits here and there 
where water may enter the gill. A very curious struc- 
ture is found in this gill. Thin walled sacs grow from 
the interlamellar partitions and the filaments into the 



34 



Our Food Mollusks 



interior chamber of the gill. They contain blood and 
are probably developed to facilitate its oxygenation. 

While the oyster has become, through degeneration, 
one of the simplest of lamellibranchs in general struc- 
ture, its gills are among the most highly modified and 
perfected to be found in the group. In a general way, 
this may be explained by saying that the extensive de- 
generation of certain organs has resulted from the habit 




Fig. 7. — The gill of the oyster (Ostrea virginica). Reference- 
letters b s indicate blood spaces ; /' and /" enlarged fila- 
ments at reentering angles of lamellar folds; other letters 
as before. 

of fixation, and that this mode of life has made special 
demands on the gills, which have been rendered more 
complex in consequence. 

Comparing the diagram of the oyster gill (Figure 7) 
with the others, the folding of the lamellae seen in the 
scallop gill, is developed to the greatest degree. Be- 
tween folds as in Pecten, a single filament is greatly 
enlarged (/'), and at regular intervals a large interlam- 
ellar partition appears, uniting the inner edges across 
the gill chamber (/"). As in the little neck gill also. 



Anatomy of the Food Mollusks 



35 




the filaments have grown together by their inner edges, 
leaving slits here and there for the ingress of water. 

Figure 8 represents a cross 
section of several filaments in the 
fold of a lamella of the oyster 
gill. Four of these filaments 
have grown together along their 
inner margins. If the section 
had passed a little higher or lower 
on the gill, one or more of these 
would have been shown to be free 
from the others. Several free 
filaments are shown in the figure, Fig. 8.— Transverse sec- 
and between them water enters tions of several fila- 
the interior of the gill. But 
above and below the plane of the 
section, these also would be united 
with contiguous filaments for 
shorter or longer distances. 

Gill filaments, when greatly magnified (Figure 9), 
show essentially the same structure in nearly all lamelli- 
branchs. They are tubes for the circulation of blood, 
and their walls are single layers of cells as shown in the 
sectional views of the oyster and scallop gills. Each fila- 
ment contains a pair of rods of secreted, rubbery sub- 
stance that give stiffness to the slender tube, and probably 
tend to keep its blood space (b) open. The cells of the 
wall are modified on the outer edge of the filament. 
Some of them bear an immense number of cilia (/ c), 
which are protoplasmic hairs having an excessively rapid 
lashing movement that produces currents in the water, 
and also removes foreign particles from the surface of 
the gill. At the margins of this tract are rows of cells 



ments of the oyster's 
gill. A union of the in- 
ner edges of four of 
these is shown, and 
their common blood 
space is indicated at b. 



// 



36 



Our Food Mollusks 



\ 



bearing greatly elongated cilia. In the majority of 
lamellibranchs, are found two such rows, but in some 
cases there are four, two on each side. Among the cells 
that bear the small frontal cilia, are certain ones that have 
become gland cells (g c) producing a large quantity of 
sticky mucus which they pour out on the surface of the 
filament. 

The functions performed by these complicated gills 
are many. They are breathing organs, and were prob- 
ably developed originally for that 
purpose alone. Blood, that is con- 
tinually streaming through the 
many filaments, is brought so close 
to the water surrounding the gills 
that oxygen borne by it enters the 
fluid by diffusion and is then car- 
ried to all parts of the body. But 
it is necessary that water surround- 
ing the gills should frequently be 
changed because its oxygen is 
quickly exhausted. In many aqua- 
tic animals the gills move back and 
forth to agitate the water, or 
special organs are developed to 
direct a current upon them. Here 
a very powerful current of the 
most effective sort is produced by 
the gills themselves. The cilia lash 
in such a way as to drive water 
between filaments on both sides of the gill into its inte- 
rior. The passageway is indicated by the arrows in the 
figures of the oyster and scallop gills. The current does 
not pause here, but continues swiftly upward toward the 




Fig. 9. — Transverse sec- 
tion of a single fila- 
ment of the gill of 
Pec ten irradians. 
Structures designated 
are : — f c, frontal 
cilia; fire, gland cells; 
.y c, straining cilia ; 
and b, blood space. 



Anatomy of the Food Mollusks 37 

base of the gill, where it enters a tube which is without 
obstructing interlamellar partitions, and leads backward 
to the cloacal chamber. This has been described as a 
space above the four gills and behind the main portion 
of the body. 

Into this cloaca all four gills continually pour their 
streams, which unite to form a powerful current that 
leaves the body either directly between the unmodified 
mantle folds, or through the dorsal chamber of the 
siphon tube. As a large amount of water is in this way 
being constantly forced out of the body, a correspond- 
ing volume is being drawn in. It enters directly be- 
tween the mantle folds into the gill chamber, or, in the 
clams, is drawn into it through the ventral tube of the 
siphon. So rapid is the stream in all forms, that with- 
out doubt many gallons of water flow through the gills 
daily. 

It is interesting to notice that this greatly perfected 
pumping mechanism never ceases its activity during the 
life of the individual. The cilia are not under the control 
of the nervous system, and the direction of their beat- 
ing is never changed or apparently slackened. There is 
but one way to prevent the streaming of water through 
the body, and that is to close the shell or contract the 
siphon so as completely to close the gill chamber. 

Now it happens that this inflowing stream bears many 
minute marine plants that these shell-fish use for food. 
They are not so numerous but that a large amount of 
water must be strained to enable the animal to obtain 
enough of them for its nourishment and growth. These 
organisms are small enough to pass through between 
the gill filaments and so out of the body again; but on 
coming in contact with the gill, they are instantly en- 



38 Our Food MoUusks 

tangled in the mass of mucus produced by the gland 
cells of the filaments. 

Cilia now carry the mucus, with its captured organ- 
isms, down to the margin of the gill, or in some cases to 
its base, where it is passed forward along ciliated tracts 
toward the palps. The palps, on touching the margin of 
the gill with their inner ciliated surfaces, remove the 
mass, which travels toward, and finally into the mouth. 
In addition to aerating the blood, then, the gills have 
become modified into food collecting and food trans- 
porting organs also. 

The gills of the European oyster and several other 
bivalves also, serve as baskets, in the female, into which 
the eggs are discharged. Here they are held until they 
have passed through the early stages of development. 
This, however, does not occur in any of our Atlantic 
food mollusks. 




CHAPTER III 

DEVELOPMENT 

N view of the present vast extent of knowledge 
concerning the minute structure of animals 
and plants, it seems almost incredible that the 
beginnings of such studies had hardly been 
made within the lifetime of persons now living. It was 
not until nearly four decades of the nineteenth century 
had passed, that the epoch-making fact was established 
that the bodies of all organisms were composed of living 
units which were, and still are, called cells. 

The term cell is really a misnomer, for it implies an 
investment or wall enclosing an empty space. The older 
observers discovered that the stems of woody plants 
were composed of bodies having thick walls that in each 
case surrounded an empty cavity. These bodies they 
properly called cells, but the units of structure which 
they had discovered were really only walls, the essential 
or living parts within having disappeared. Such empty 
spaces are not found in animal bodies or in the living 
and growing parts of plants. 

Cells that compose the body of an animal or plant are 
not all of the same sort, as are the bricks of which a 
building is constructed. Some are nearly spherical, 
others are flattened or are elongated into fibers. Most 
of them are minute, but there is a great variation in their 

39 



40 Our Food Mollusks 

relative size. They are thus differentiated in structure 
because they have become adapted to various uses. 

So far as we are able to judge, all cells, whether ani- 
mal or plant, are essentially similar in their nature. Each 
is a body of living protoplasm, usually with a jelly-like 
consistency, but with a minute structure that is difficult 
to determine. Each cell mass contains a small spherical 
or ovoid body called the nucleus. This is a part of the 
living substance, and is complicated in structure. It is 
a constant and essential part of the cell. 

Among the cells of the bodies of animals and plants 
are those set apart to perform the function of repro- 
duction. The essential feature of sexual reproduction 
is the union of two cells, usually one from each of two 
parent individuals, to produce a new cell which, by mul- 
tiplication, builds the body of the offspring. 

These two sexual cells that thus unite, differ from 
each other in size and in structure. The female cell, or 
ovum, as it is called, is usually spherical and often rela- 
tively large from the presence of secreted yolk or food 
substance. With this the body of the early embryo is 
to be fed until it possesses a digestive tract, and has some 
means of capturing its own food; or, in animals in 
which the young develops within the body of the parent, 
until it forms organs by means of which it can, in a 
parasitic fashion, take its food from the body of the 
mother. Because they carry the food substance, ova are 
inert, and must be sought by the male cells. 

The spermatozoa, or male cells, are exceedingly minute. 
In structure they are much the same in nearly all ani- 
mals. Each is a single cell containing a nucleus. This 
latter body forms what is known as the " head," and the 
remainder of the cell is extended from it in the form of 



Development 41 

a fine thread and is called the " tail." The object of 
such an extreme modification of the cell becomes clear 
when it is observed that its tail or flagellum is capable of 
a violent lashing movement that propels it rapidly 
through the fluid in which it finds itself after being dis- 
charged from the body of the male. This cell is modified 
for swimming in order that it may meet the ovum, and 
its great motihty also enables it to penetrate the latter 
when contact with it has been effected. 

For a time the male cells possess great vitality, though 
their life is short if they fail to meet the ovum, for they 
carry no food. Even in higher animals, where, in per- 
forming their function, they are neither exposed to the 
air nor to a change of temperature, they will live for a 
time outside the body, and apparently are not injured by 
many salts in solution, recover from the effects of nar- 
cotics, and may even regain their motion after being 
frozen. 

The necessity of such great vitality is especially clear 
in the case of marine animals like oysters, clams, starfish, 
and many others, where there is no union of the sexes, 
but a mere discharge of sexual cells into the water where, 
often under adverse conditions, they must find each 
other. 

The ovum and spermatozoon of the oyster, and also the 
male cells of the quahaug and scallop, are represented 
in Figure 10. With slight changes this figure would 
represent equally well the sexual cells of other bivalves — 
and, in fact, those of almost any sexual animal. The 
ovum is seen to be relatively large, with a conspicuous 
nucleus (;/), and bears minute granules of yolk. The 
long flagellum or tail of the spermatozoon drives the 
cell with the nucleus forward. The latter structure has a 



42 



Our Food Mollusks 



slightly different shape in different bivalves, as indicated 
in the figure. 

After becoming mature in the sexual glands of bi- 
valves, usually in the early summer, both male and fe- 
male cells are discharged into the water. Both may be 




Fig. 10. — Ovarian ovum of the oyster (o) 
showing nucleus (n) and nucleolus (»'). 
The relative size of the male cell is repre- 
sented by the small figure lying near it. 
There are also shown, greatly magnified, the 
spermatozoa of Ostrea (a), Pecten (b), 
and Venus (f). 

carried by currents. The ova are passive and gradually 
sink, but the spermatozoa very soon begin to swim. 
They are vastly more numerous than the eggs which they 
are intended to find. Though a single spermatozoon 
only, unites with an ovum in normal cases, it might ap- 
pear that conditions are such that comparatively few 
unions would take place, and the opinion is sometimes 
expressed that such probably is the case. There is, how- 
ever, no good reason for such a belief. Males and fe- 
males with full glands, may be stimulated experiment- 
ally by employing certain changes in the surroundings 



Development 43 

in such a way as to cause the discharge of both sexual 
products simultaneously. In nature, as they lie close to- 
gether, such a stimulus as a rise in temperature probably 
brings about the same result, and it is quite possible that 
few ova fail to be found by spermatozoa. 

An ovum unites with a single spermatozoon only. 
When the two cells finally meet, the activity of the flagel- 
lum soon forces the nucleus or head into the body of the 
ovum. The flagellum itself does not enter. Its function 
being completed, it is cast off. 

In the American oyster a curious phenomenon appears 
just at this time. The nucleus of the ovum divides and 
a small cell containing half of it, separates from the 
ovum. The process is soon repeated, and a second small 
cell appears beside the first. These polar cells, as they 
are called, are shown in Figure 11, II to VI, and are des- 
ignated by the reference-letter p. They have no part in 
forming the body of the embryo, and though they remain 
attached to it for some time, they finally are lost. The- 
oretically their nature can be very satisfactorily ac- 
counted for. The formation of polar cells has been wit- 
nessed in most animal eggs. It precedes fertilization, 
and is referred to as the maturation of the ovum. 

The male and female nuclei now lying within the 
ovum, move toward each other, touch, and finally fuse 
to form a single new nucleus. Once more we have an 
ovum with its nucleus, but it is now a complex of male 
as well as of female elements. This wonderful process 
is still called fertilization, a term given to it when it was 
supposed that the male cell simply stimulated or excited 
the ovum to produce a new individual. We now know 
that it has an equal part with the ovum in forming the 
body of the young. 



44 Our Food Mollusks 

The new cell, called the fertilized ovum, or, better, the 
oosperm, now begins a process of division that results in 
a large aggregate of cells, which gradually group and 
arrange themselves into the form of organs, in which 
form, position, size and function, conform to the con- 
ditions characteristic of the species. 

There is nothing in nature so marvelous as this mi- 
nute fragment of living substance. It was formerly be- 
lieved that the oosperm was a fully formed individual in 
miniature, possessing all the organs of the adult body, 
and that, like a plant bud, it merely expanded and un- 
folded during development. In reality it is a simple cell, 
undifferentiated in structure, and yet possessing the most 
wonderful potentialities. If we place side by side the 
fertilized ova of the simplest and the most highly special- 
ized of many-celled animals, we are able to discover 
only minor differences in structure, such as are easily ac- 
counted for by secondary causes — a greater or less ac- 
cumulation of yolk and the like. Even the fertilized 
ova of plants are essentially similar to these. And yet 
we know that each holds in its minute body, when living, 
the hidden power to set in motion and to continue a long 
series of marvelous transformations, ending in one case 
in the production of a sponge, or in another of a human 
being. The marvel of it was recognized before Paley, a 
century ago, wrote : — '' A particle, in many cases minuter 
than all assignable, all conceivable dimensions ; an aura, 
an effluvium, an infinitesimal ; determines the organiza- 
tion of a future body; does no less than fix whether 
that which is about to be produced, shall be a vegetable, 
a mere sentient, or a rational being: an oak, a frog, 
or a philosopher." 

The oosperm possesses the power of self-division, a 




Fig. II. The development of the American oyster, after 
Professor W. K. Brooks. 



Development 45 

power that its cell descendants retain. The man- 
ner of its division or segmentation in the American 
oyster will illustrate the process in the group of the bi- 
valves, and, briefly following the description of Pro- 
fessor Brooks, is as follows : — 

About an hour after the male cell has entered the 
ovum, the latter becomes somewhat enlarged at one end 
— that to which the pole cells are attached. The nucleus 
of the ovum divides, the two nuclei separate, and a con- 
striction of the body of the cell separates it into two cells. 
The cell to which the pole cells are attached soon di- 
vides, and a stage represented by II in Figure 1 1 appears. 
Here are shown one large and two slightly smaller cells. 
Preceding every division, there is a division of the 
nucleus, so that every cell always contains a nuclear 
body. 

Even thus early in development, it is possible to de- 
termine a difference in the fate of these cells. From the 
single larger one, will arise the digestive tract, and 
from the two smaller, will be formed the outer wall of 
the body. 

In the course of a few minutes, if the temperature is 
not below 70° Fahrenheit, the two smaller cells divide, 
forming fouV, each of which is about half the size of the 
cell from which it is derived. Again after a pause, there 
is another division of the small cells. One more division 
gives us the segmenting egg represented by VI, in which 
one large cell is partially covered by a cap of several 
smaller ones. 

The multiplication of the smaller cells continues, and 
they spread still farther over the surface of the larger 
one. The latter finally divides, forming an inner layer. 
The relative positions of these parts is illustrated by VII, 



46 Our Food Mollusks 

which represents a section cut through the center of the 
mass. The outer cells, darkly shaded in the drawing, 
will form the wall of the body, the inner ones the di- 
gestive tract. The reference-letters s t indicate a pit or 
cavity, now wide open to the surface, but later nearly 
closed, which becomes the stomach. The reduced open- 
ing is the primitive mouth. 

Up to this time, the shape of the embryo has ap- 
proached that of a sphere, but it now changes, assum- 
ing a form like that represented by VIII. The outlines of 
surface cells are shown here, but in subsequent figures 
they are omitted. At one end of the body the surface 
cells throw out some protoplasmic hairs, or cilia, which 
begin a lashing or rowing movement so violent that 
the embryo is raised from the bottom, where it has 
been lying, and swims upward to the surface of the 
water. 

From two to four hours have now elapsed since sper- 
matozoon and ovum united. As in the case of many 
other animals, the rate of segmentation depends on tem- 
perature. When this is' lower than the optimum, devel- 
opment is retarded, and may be stopped altogether. The 
swimming embryos of the oyster are greatly affected by 
cold, and a heavy shower or cold wind coming when they 
are gathered at the surface, may kill them all. This ap- 
parently often happens on the north Atlantic coast, and 
probably accounts for the failure of the " set of spat " 
which sometimes occurs in restricted localities, or even 
generally, in certain years. Such a failure is almost un- 
known in the Gulf of Mexico. On the other hand, the 
reproduction of the eastern oyster is almost entirely 
prevented in the cold waters of the Pacific, where it is 
planted and is able to grow. 



Development 47 

Soon after the embryo begins to swim, the valves of 
the shell appear as minute secreted plates one on each 
side of the body. In other bivalves, the shell rudiment is 
at first unpaired. These shells grow rapidly at their 
edges, and soon cover the body. Sheets of cells grow 
out to line the shell valves on their inner surfaces, and 
become the mantle folds. The part of the body bearing 
the cilia projects as a rounded disk which is called the 
velum. Muscle fibers form by the elongation of cells in 
mantle and velum, and by their contraction, these parts 
may be entirely withdrawn within the shell. 

In the meantime, internal changes have occurred. Ac- 
cording to Professor Brooks, the primitive mouth closes. 
In about the same locality, the surface of the body then 
pushes in to form a pit. The bottom of this unites with 
the anterior end of the stomach. These walls are broken 
through, and the stomach and the new mouth become 
connected. Posterior to the mouth a second pit from the 
surface of the body touches the stomach. Its cavity in 
the same way becomes connected with it, and there are 
formed the anal opening and the rudiment of the intes- 
tine (X and XI, oysters about three and six days old 
respectively). 

Up to this time, the embryo has subsisted only on the 
food yolk deposited in the ovum during its growth in 
the parent's body. Consequently it has not increased in 
volume. With the formation of mouth and anus, it be- 
gins to capture organisms in the water and to digest 
them, and rapidly increases in size. 

An interesting feature of the development is the for- 
mation of a foot which is never used, because the embryo 
becomes attached before it is large enough to make use of 
a creeping organ. An anterior as well as a posterior ad- 



48 Our Food Mollusks 

diictor muscle also appears. Subsequently the foot and 
anterior adductor degenerate and completely disappear. 

During the formation of the shell the small oysters 
leave the surface of the water and continue for some time 
to swim at lower levels. About the sixth or seventh 
day after development begins, they settle to the bottom, 
and, if fortunate enough to come in contact with a hard, 
clean surface, attach themselves by a sticky secretion 
of the mantle. In the figure, XII represents such a re- 
cently attached oyster, and shows the finger-like rudi- 
ments of the inner gill, which is the first of these organs 
to form. The velum with its cilia, having now become 
useless, soon disappears. 

The early development of two or three others of our 
edible bivalves has now been studied, and it appears that 
the succession of changes in each is very much like that 
of the oyster, as would be expected. But because of 
differences in the manner of living in adults of different 
species, we find diversities of structure appearing soon 
after the swimming stage. The details of the early life 
of some of these forms are not yet known, but many ob- 
servations have been made on the growth and habits of 
the attached oyster, the small soft clam, and the young 
scallop, and these will subsequently be mentioned. 




CHAPTER IV 

CILIARY MECHANISMS 

LITTLE more than a century ago, a remark- 
able book on Natural Theology was publislied 
by William Paley, an English ecclesiastic. It 
presented an argument for the existence and 
benevolence of a personal deity, and was founded on 
some of the phenomena of nature. In essence, Paley's 
argument was that the existence of any contrivance in 
nature necessarily involved the existence of a designing 
mind which created it, and he described many mecha- 
nisms which are, without doubt, constructed for very 
definite and particular uses. This argument was not 
new in Paley's time. It had previously been presented 
in published form by a Dutch writer, and undoubtedly had 
existed in some form in man's mind since an early period. 
But Paley developed it elaborately and with great success, 
and it has ever since had a powerful influence on the 
common conceptions of the Creator and the universe. 

Nevertheless the world has generally come to agree 
with Huxley's statement that Paley's argument from 
design, as he evidently intended to apply it, received its 
death-blow from Darwin's " Origin of Species," which 
accounts in quite a different manner for the appearance of 
mechanisms in nature. What Paley really accomplished 
for the theology of his time, was the damming up of the 
flood of knowledge that later destroyed the greater part 

49 



^o Our Food Mollusks 

of it. It was the irony of fate that the lasting benefit 
of his labor was to natural science, the deadly foe of 
theology, by fixing in the mind of the thinking world, as 
nothing else had done, knowledge concerning the utilities 
of mechanisms, the usefulness of parts, and the adaptation 
of the whole organism to its environment — foundation 
facts in Darwin's explanation of the origin of species by 
natural selection. 

So it has happened that the structure and operation of 
mechanisms in animal and plant bodies have received 
much attention from biologists, and have often excited 
great admiration for the complexities and beauties of 
their adjustments. Illustrations of mechanisms may be 
had from any group of organisms, though the more in- 
tricate ones are to be found, as might be expected, in 
the bodies of higher animals or plants. 

They are often very complicated, however, in more 
lowly forms. Judging from the jocular references to 
the placidity of the oyster and the happiness of the clam 
that no popular writer has ever been able to avoid when 
mentioning them, the common notion seems to be that 
these are inert, structureless, functionless masses of pulp, 
living the simple life reduced to its lowest possible terms. 
But in the chapter on anatomy, it was shown that a semi- 
automatic ciliary mechanism exists in the members of the 
bivalve group for straining food particles out of the 
water and passing them to the mouth. That such a 
function was performed, has been known for a long time, 
but it was first observed by the writer that there exists 
in connection with it another and even more complicated 
mechanism, depending largely on the nervous system for 
its operation, by means of which mud and other useless 
matter collected by the gills may be carried away from 



Ciliary Mechanisms 51 

the mouth and out of the body. It is because this mech- 
anism is so intricate and so beautifully adapted to the 
environment in which bivalves live, and because few facts 
concerning it have yet been published, that a short de- 
scription of it, as it appears in the common food mol- 
lusks, will be given here. 

But first, brief mention must be made of the minute 
food organisms which the animal allows to pass into its 
mouth. Then it may be noted how it deals with the un- 
desirable mud particles, also brought by the incoming 
stream, and how it rids itself of them without checking 
the flow of water into the body. 

There are reasons for believing that, from the begin- 
ning, lamellibranchs lived on floating organisms that 
they were able to take from the water. However that 
may be, all living forms whether creeping, attached, or 
burrowed in the bottom, now derive their nourishment 
entirely from microscopically small organisms brought 
to the body by the action of the gills. 

The food forms thus captured and consumed, belong, 
with few exceptions, to a universally distributed group 
of plants known as diatoms. They are single-celled or- 
ganisms, but possess some structural modifications of 
great complexity. The bit of protoplasm constituting 
the living part of the body is enclosed in a case of pure 
glass, made of two pieces nearly equal in size, one fitting 
into the other like a pill-box into its cover. This case is 
often sculptured with extremely minute and exquisitely 
regular markings, definite patterns characterizing many 
species. In outline they vary from circular disks to 
slender rods (Figure 12). On account of their beauty 
and variety, they are the stock subjects for exhibition by 
amateur microscopists. 



52 



Our Food Mollusks 



As might be expected, all localities are not equally 
favorable for the growth of these plants. Temperature 
has much to do with the rate of their multiplication. 




Fig. 12. — Diatoms found in the stomachs of oysters. (From the 
U. S. Bureau of Fisheries.) 

They are numerous enough in the cold waters of the At- 
lantic coast above Cape Cod to support large areas of 
long neck clams, but their numbers are much greater in 



Ciliary Mechanisms 53 

warm waters like those of the Gulf of Mexico. They 
are more numerous in the shallow waters of coast lines 
than in the open sea, probably because the salts in solu- 
tion, forming a necessary part of the material required 
for their nourishment, exist in sufficient quantities only 
near the mouths of rivers or small streams which, in 
turn, have derived them from the soil. The tempera- 
ture of the water on extensive flats and in shallow estu- 
aries, also, is higher than in the open ocean. As a re- 
sult of this distribution of diatoms, bivalves are most 
numerous in comparatively shallow waters near the land. 

The normal process of feeding, when the water is free 
from mud, is much the same in all bivalves. Imagine 
an oyster, for example, lying with valves open in water 
containing only diatoms. The cilia on both surfaces of 
each gill continually drive water from the branchial 
chamber through the spaces between filaments and into 
the gill interior. Here it passes upward to the base of 
the gill, falls into the epibranchial space, and is forced 
backward and discharged from the body above the gills. 

Now and then the stream bears a diatom to the gill 
surface. On touching a filament, it instantly adheres to 
the sticky mucus produced by the gland cells. This 
mucus, with its entangled diatoms, is then moved 
by the gill cilia down to the free edge of the gill, 
as indicated by the arrows on the gill surface in Figure 
3. It now proceeds forward on the gill margin until 
the palps are reached. The material is transferred from 
the gill to the ciliated inner surfaces of the palps, and 
proceeds directly across their ridges toward, and finally 
into the funnel-like mouth. So much of the function of 
the gill and palp cilia has been known to biologists for 
many years, but practically nothing more has been ob- 



54 Our Food Mollusks 

served, though there are several variations in the method 
of directing food to the mouth. The fact that palps in 
all forms also possess ciliated tracts leading away from 
the mouth, and that the sides of the visceral mass and 
the walls of the mantle possess complicated ciliated sur- 
faces, has been very generally overlooked. 

In some bivalves certain gill faces or lamellae carry 
the captured organisms to the base, instead of to the 
margin of the gill, where they also are borne along 
ciliated paths leading to the palp surfaces ; and in one 
case among our food mollusks, that of the scallops, the 
transportation on the gill faces may at one time be to the 
bases, at another to the edges of the gill, and without any 
reversal of the ciliary action. The figure of the oyster 
also shows a tract at the gill base that leads to the palps. 

One who carefully observes oyster beds or clam flats 
at different seasons, notices that there are often great 
changes in external conditions. Even where tide cur- 
rents are strong, thus mixing waters, there is consider- 
able variation in temperature during the summer, and 
the average difference between summer and winter tem- 
peratures on the north Atlantic coast of course is great. 
Continued cold checks the growth of diatoms, and so les- 
sens the amount of bivalve food. Though it has not 
been carefully studied in most forms, it has recently been 
shown that scallops and little neck clams do not grow at 
all during the winter in northern waters. Whether this 
is true of warm southern waters is not known, but prob- 
ably it is not. It is a safe prediction that the growth of 
all bivalves living on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico 
will be found to be uninterrupted. There are also great 
changes in the salinity of water, especially near the 
mouths of rivers entering the sea, and oysters par- 



Ciliary Mechanisms 55 

ticularly are sensitive to such changes. Along the shore 
of the Gulf of Mexico, near the mouths of the Missis- 
sippi and other rivers, the water for days at a time may 
be nearly fresh enough to drink. 

It is sometimes difficult to determine the precise effect 
of such changes on the inhabitants of the bottom, but 
there is one condition, frequently observed, the response 
to which in the case of bivalves, we are now able to de- 
scribe in detail. This condition is the periodical loading 
of the water with mud, that occurs on all coasts. It may 
be observed even on the Maine coast in regions where 
there are practically no beaches or flats, and where the 
bottoms are very generally rocky; and almost every- 
where along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, but espe- 
cially near the mouth of the Mississippi, the water is 
clear one day and fairly thick with mud the next. The 
phenomenon is undoubtedly due to the irregular dis- 
charge of rivers and to tide currents. 

It may readily be understood that water bearing sus- 
pended mud or fine sand presents a serious problem to 
the bivalve feeding on microscopic plants strained from 
it, and if the gill apparatus that collects them were the 
only one to deal with them, mud as well as food would 
necessarily be carried into the digestive tract as long as 
the shell was allowed to remain open. This ingestion of 
mud or sand normally occurs in some animals that are 
able to digest the organic matter included in the mass, 
but, with the exception of one known genus, the digestive 
organs of shell-fish are evidently not suited to perform 
such a function. There are two ways in which the prob- 
lem may be solved. While the water is muddy, the / 
shell may be closed so as entirely to prevent it from 
entering the body, or the flow may be allowed to con- 



56 Our Food Mollusks 

tinue and the mud strained out and discharged from the 
mantle chamber instead of being taken to the mouth. 
But an objection to closing the shell for long periods is 
that aeration of the blood ceases when the water stops 
flowing. It is true that some lamellibranchs may live 
for days or weeks out of the water, when the tempera- 
ture is low, but they seem to be injured by such treat- 
ment, at least in the adult state. Probably for this rea- 
son, the second plan is the one that has been adopted. 

Bivalves persist in keeping the shell open, thus allow- 
ing water to enter the branchial chamber, even when 
bearing mud in considerable cjuantity. On entering, 
many of the suspended particles are brought in contact 
with the inner faces of the mantle and the wall of the 
visceral mass. Now all of the free surfaces of the 
mantle chamber — mantle, visceral mass, and gills alike — 
produce a sticky mucous secretion, so that particles 
adhere to any of these surfaces that they happen to 
touch. Let us first inquire into the disposition of those 
that are lodged against the inner mantle wall. 

Figure 13 represents the inner surface of the mantle 
(m) lining the left valve of the shell of the hard clam, 
Venus. All other parts of the body have been removed. 
If a few grains of powdered carmine or fine sand are 
allowed to settle through the water upon a living specimen 
prepared in this way, they may be seen to adhere to the 
mantle wherever they touch it, and then, together with 
the mass of mucus in which they are held, they begin to 
move in the direction indicated by the arrows of the 
figure. 

This movement is due to the action of cilia, lashing 
continually in definite directions, and uncontrolled by 
the nervous system. Everything is moved downward, 



Ciliary Mechanisms 



57 



finally reaching a sharply defined tract parallel with the 
mantle edge. Here the stream is directed backward to 
a point just below the opening of the incurrent siphon 
(i s). It will be remembered that the siphon is a pair 
of tubes formed as a growth from the mantle, and that in 
the living clam, a strong stream of water enters the 




Fig. 13. — Ciliation of the mantle of the round clam or "little neck" 
(Venus mercenaria). The arrows indicate the directions taken 
by foreign particles in the mantle chamber that come in contact 
with the mantle wall. The palps are represented at p. 

lower one. If a mass of material being moved by the 
mantle cilia were brought in contact with this stream, 
it would be swept far back again into the mantle cham- 
ber, so it comes to rest in this small bay below the siphon, 
where a considerable quantity of it may collect. What 
is to become of it? It could not easily be carried di- 
rectly outward between the edges of the mantle, because 
the entire shell is covered in the bottom. The only 



58 Our Food MoUusks 

path to the exterior is through the lower tube of the 
siphon, and ciha could not possibly move the mass 
against its powerful incoming current. 

When a sufficient quantity has collected, the clam 
suddenly contracts the adductor muscles, the result being 
that some of the water filling the spacious mantle cham- 
ber is thrown out in a strong jet through the lower 
siphon tube, and the waste material being in so favor- 
able a position for it, is discharged. All bivalves seem 
to have this habit of periodically discharging water from 
the mantle chamber, and for the reason given. Long 
neck clams, if steamed or baked immediately after be- 
ing taken from their burrows, usually contain in the 
mantle chamber a very annoying amount of sand. But 
if they are allowed to stand over night in a bucket of 
clean water, the sand is removed. In effecting its re- 
moval, a large part of the water of the bucket will be 
found on the ground where it has been thrown, some- 
times to a distance of several feet, by the powerful jets 
directed out of the siphons. 

Though there are always differences in details, the 
mantle ciliation of all lamellibranchs so far examined 
is practically like that of Venus. Apparently its sole 
function is the removal of objectionable matter from 
the body. 

The ciliary tracts of the side of the body are repre- 
sented in Figure 14. Mud particles or fine sand grains 
adhering to its surface are carried backward to the 
point X, where they fall on the mantle, which disposes 
of them as described. The figure also illustrates the 
position of the labial palps and shows the striations or 
ridges on the inner face of the posterior one, across 
which food is carried to the mouth. 



Ciliary Mechanisms 



59 



But the mantle and sides of the body collect com- 
paratively little of the mud from the water, for the 
stream that rushes into the gills brings to their surfaces 
the greater part of it. Probably none of it is allowed 
to enter, but all is caught by the mucus on the gill sur- 
faces. It now is carried downward on all the gill 




Fig. 14. — Cilia currents on the side of the visceral mass of the 
round clam, Venus. The currents on the inner surface of 
the palp are also shown. 

lamellae to the edges of the gill, in Venus, and, falling 
into the grooves on their margins, is conducted swiftly 
forward toward the palps. The position of these organs 
is seen to be such that the edge of the inner gill lies be- 
tween them. 

In one case at least, among bivalves (Yoldia), the 
gills possess a special mechanism by means of which col- 



i 



6o Our Food MoUusks 

lected material may, if it is desirable, be transported di- 
rectly to the epibranchial chamber and out of the body; 
but in all of our food mollusks, the gills can only collect 
and transport to the palps any material, whether food 
organisms or mud particles, that comes to them in mod- 
erate quantities. If the mass of material is very great, 
it may sometimes fall from the gill margins to the mantle 
walls, instead of going to the palps. 

But in all cases in which the labial palps receive ma- 
terial collected by the gills, they determine whether it 
shall go into the digestive tract or be sent out of the 
body. Their inner surfaces are seen to bear fine parallel 
lines, the direction of which is indicated in Figures 3 and 
14. These ridges are ciliated and the hairs lash in such 
a direction that food crosses over them on its way to 
the mouth. The palps being muscular and capable of 
extensive movements, receive material from the gill edge 
simply by placing their inner surfaces against the gill, 
and the mass of mucus with its particles is easily lifted 
off and carried onward. 

But on the lower edge of each palp, as shown in the 
figures, is an unstriated margin very strongly ciliated, 
that sweeps directly away from the mouth. Now when 
large quantities of material are delivered by the gills, the 
palps at once respond by moving these margins into such 
a position that they, instead of the ridges, remove the 
gill collection. Then, swinging down, with their loads 
of accumulated waste, the palps cast the material off 
from their free tips into the mantle chamber. Here the 
undesirable collection is picked up by the mantle cilia, 
and disposed of in the manner already described. This 
ciliated margin of the palp, then, is the special organ for 
switching the mud accumulation on to the outgoing track. 



Ciliary Mechanisms 6i 

It is practically the same in other lamelHbranchs, though 
in some cases the entire mechanism is much more com- 
plex than in the little neck or oyster. 

Though diatoms and useless particles are sometimes 
brought to the gills at the same time, an examination 
of the stomach contents of any bivalve will show that 
there has been a selection of the food organisms and an 
exclusion of mud or fine sand. The latter are some- 
times found in the stomach, but in small amounts. When 
this mixed mass of food and mud is brought, it is not 
possible to separate them, and the whole is rejected and 
sent out of the body. It thus happens that the bivalve 
ceases to feed when the water is muddy to a certain de- 
gree, though it still allows water to enter the mantle 
chamber, presumably for the sake of the oxygen it 
bears. 

It appears that the animal is not able to distinguish 
food from mud particles either by the gills or palps, 
but the selection of food results directly from the dif- 
ferences in the response of the palps to varying quan- 
tities of matter transported to them by the gills. Under 
favorable conditions, diatoms are collected a few at a 
time, and are sent across the palp ridges to the mouth. 
In muddy water the particles increase in number until 
the palps respond by diverting everything received to 
the outgoing tracts. 

This may be proved experimentally, though the 
operator must exercise care and skill. Very fine grains 
of carmine, dropped on gills or palps of any bivalve, in 
very small quantities, may be observed, with the aid of a 
glass, to pass into the mouth. This simulates conditions 
favorable for feeding, when diatoms are steadily 
strained, a few at a time, from clear water. When 



62 



Our Food Mollusks 



larger quantities of carmine grains are used, their nun-' 
ber finally causes the palps to reject them, the ciliatc 
margins often being folded over so as to sweep clea. 
even the striated surfaces of the palps, if carmine ha;- 
fallen directly on them, and they are able to clean them 
selves in still another way that cannot be described here. 




Fig. 15. — Cilia currents on mantle (m) and palp (/>) of the 
oyster (Ostrea virginica). 

The general direction of currents and the possible 
routes for food or mud in the mantle chamber of the 
oyster will be understood without description by a study 
of Figures 3 and 15. The gills are represented as hav- 
ing been removed in the latter figure, their former line 
of attachment to the mantle being shown by the line C. 
It will be seen that undesirable matter is cast out of the 
body over the edges of the mantle between the points A 
and B, and that this is the most favorable region for such 
a discharge. If farther back, as below C, this would 



Ciliary Mechanisms 63 

have to be accomplished (hrectly against the incurrent 
stream of water. The palps function, as in Venus, in 
disposing of material that they receive from the gills. 

There is a widespread belief that oysters and clams 
may be fattened with such substances as corn-meal. 
Even those well acquainted with the subject often have 
supposed that bivalves had the power of taking such ma- 
terial into the mouth. The following is a statement 
on the subject published in an authoritative and valuable 
guide to oyster culture : — 

" Experiments have been made with a view to feeding 
the adult oysters upon corn-meal or some similar sub- 
stance, but such attempts have been of no practical 
value. There is no doubt that they would eat corn- 
meal or any other substance in a sufficiently fine state 
of division to be acted upon by the cilia. The oyster 
is incapable of making a selection of its food, and prob- 
ably any substance, nutritious, inert, or injurious, would 
be swept into the mouth witli complete indifference ex- 
cept as to the result. Corn-meal and similar substances 
would doubtless be nutritious, but their use must be so 
wasteful that the value of the meal would be greater 
than that of the oyster produced." 

In view of the account of the feeding habits of 
bivalves here given, these statements require some inter- 
pretation. Corn-meal ground to microscopically small 
particles might be taken into the mouth of oyster or clam 
if brought to the gill surfaces a very little at a time, but 
even in a laboratory experiment, it would not be easy to 
arrange these conditions properly. In such experiments 
as those to which the writer of the quoted paragraph 
refers, in which corn-meal, as ordinarily ground, is 
merely thrown into the water over the bivalves, or even 



64 Our Food Mollusks 

in cases in which it is placed directly in the mantle cham- 
ber, a very small amount of it, if any, would ever reach 
the mouth opening. Moreover, it has been found that 
clams refuse to allow such substances as very finely 
ground fish or shrimps even to enter the mantle chamber 
through the siphons. Mere contact of such materials 
with the sensory end of the incurrent siphon causes 
violent contractions of the adductor muscles, and of the 
siphon also. 

Though the same general plan is followed in all, there 
are many curious modifications of these ciliary mecha- 
nisms that are characteristic of different bivalves, and 
they occur on palps, mantle, or gills. One of the most 
astonishingly ingenious (if the word may be permitted) 
of these, is an arrangement on all the gill surfaces of the 
scallops, by means of which foreign particles, strained 
from the water, are automatically directed toward the 
palps and the mouth, when few, and upon outgoing 
tracts whenever they increase to a certain number. 

To understand the operation of this mechanism, it 
should be noticed that the gill surfaces are thrown into 
marked folds, as described in the chapter on anatomy. 
These folds extend from the bases to the margins of the 
gills, and between them are deep grooves (Figure 6). 
The surface cilia of the filaments near the middle of the 
folds lash toward the free margins of the gills, while 
those in the grooves between the folds lash in the op- 
posite direction, toward the gill bases (Figure i6). 
When the stream that rushes between the filaments into 
the interior of the gill brings particles to its surface a 
few at a time, the majority of them fall into the grooves 
(g), and are then carried to the base of the gill. Here 
they go to a ciliated tract leading to the palps and 



Ciliary Mechanisms 



6i 



mouth (ill). This is the 
normal food collecting pro- 
cess. 

But when much material 
arrives on the gill, it not 
only falls into the grooves, 
but adheres to the surfaces 
of the folds (/) as well. 
Everywhere it seems to 
stimulate a copious secretion 
of mucus, and the whole 
mass, both in the grooves 
and on the folds, becomes 
continuous. Now begins a 
struggle between opposing 
tracts. The material in the 
grooves is pushed toward the 
base and that on the folds 
toward the free edge of the 
srill, as at b. The tension on 
the string of mucus becomes 
so great that finally — and in- 
variably — it is lifted up out 
of the grooves and all is 
borne to the edge of the gill 
(c). Now, too, the whole 
gill is responding to the 
stimulus of a large quantity 
of foreign matter on its sur- 
face, by writhing and sway- 
ing from side to side. 

If it is the inner gill that 
has made this collection, 




Fig. i6.— Three folds of the 
surface of the gill of the 
scallop (Pecten irradians) 
to illustrate automatic action 
of cilia in bearing small 
quantities of material to the 
mouth on the tract marked 
m, and large quantities away 
from the mouth and to the 
mantle wall from the edge of 
the gill. 



66 Our Food MoUusks 

it transfers its mass to the outer, or casts it off into 
the mantle chamber. The outer gill often touches the 
mantle, the cilia of which relieve it of its burden and 
carry it away. 

Thus the gills as well as the palps of Pecten reject 
material when it is too abundant, but the process in this 
case is purely automatic. The course taken by foreign 
matter is determined by its volume, and so certainly that 
the experimenter is soon able, when allowing carmine 
particles to settle on the gill, to predict which path they 
will follow on reaching its surface. 

There are few known mechanical contrivances of 
animal bodies more wonderful than this self-operating 
mechanism of the Pecten gill. Cilia, in all animals 
above the Protozoa, or single celled forms, lash only in 
one direction. Yet here is a ciliated surface that auto- 
matically selects from the water what usually is suitable 
for food, and rejects that which is not suitable, carrying 
the first toward the mouth, and the other in the opposite 
direction, the matter being determined wholly by the 
quantity of the material. 

It is possible here to make only the brief statement 
that some bivalves develop special organs the ciliated sur- 
faces of which are constructed to cope with peculiar 
conditions of the environment. Such, for example, is a 
filmy membrane that grows out from the posterior sur- 
face of the body wall in a species of Pholas in the 
Gulf of Mexico. This organ rolls itself into the form 
of an inverted trough, and, collecting mud from the sides 
of the body, carries it under cover, directly against the 
incurrent stream, out into — and perhaps entirely 
through — the lower siphon tube to the exterior. This 
special apparatus is apparently necessary in this creature 



Ciliary Mechanisms 67 

that lives in water often very heavily laden with mud. 
One might search far among organisms to find a con- 
trivance more strikingly ingenious, and its utility is so 
perfectly evident that it would no doubt have enrap- 
tured Paley, had he possessed knowledge of it. 



I 




CHAPTER V 
OYSTER CULTURE IN EUROPE AND JAPAN 

European Oyster Culture 

HERE is abundant evidence that marine mol- 
lusks were extensively used for food by man 
before historic times. In many parts of the 
world ancient shell heaps, some of them of 
immense proportions, are found near waters that are 
still capable of producing the same forms. These are so 
disposed and so constructed that it is certain that they 
are not natural accumulations on what was formerly 
ocean bottom, but the work of human hands. This con- 
clusion is substantiated by the fact that among the shells 
of clams or oysters or marine snails, the bones of aquatic 
and land animals are often found, together with primi- 
tive weapons or domestic implements. Such shell heaps 
are common on our Atlantic coast, and on some of the 
islands off the coast of California, there are mounds of 
shells of great extent that contain mortars and pestles, 
the bones of fishes, seals, whales, and implements and 
ornaments of various kinds. Indeed, on the island of 
San Nicholas there is said to have existed as late as the 
nineteenth century a primitive tribe of people living after 
the simple fashion of hundreds of generations of an- 
cestors, and making the last contribution to vast shell 
accumulations. Nothing in history is more ghastly than 

68 



Oyster Culture in Europe and Japan 69 




the destruction of that race, nor more strange and 
pathetic than the rescue, after eighteen years of solitude, 
of its single survivor. 

There are two species of oysters native to European 
waters. The flat oyster, Ostrea edulis, is found on the 
northern shores. It is ^^.^ssr- •-■,<^-~'--w>. 

rounded and flat, and /-;=>- ■ "g- 5. ~ |^ 

its shell has a diameter 
of but two or three 
inches (Figure 17). 
It is hermaphroditic — 
that is, both male and 
female organs are de- 
veloped in each indi- 
vidual. 

Its cousin, the Por- 
tuguese oyster, O. an- 
gulata, found on the 
southern shores, is not 
so highly esteemed as 
the flat oyster. It is said naturally to be elongated, even 
when not crowded in clusters. It is very small (Figure 
18). The sexes are separate. 

These oysters have been cultivated since ancient times. 
Pliny, who may be called the father of a class of dis- 
credited nature observers that still flourishes, states that 
at the beginning of the seventh century oysters were 
artificially reared with great success in Lake Lucrin; but 
there is evidence to show that he had in this case been cor- 
rectly informed. M. Coste, a French naturalist, and the 
originator of modern oyster culture in Europe, describes 
two funeral vases, one found at Pouille and the other 
near Rome, which prove that oyster embryos were col- 



FiG. 17. — European flat oyster (Ostrea 
edulis). (This and the following 
figure are modifications of figures 
by Professor Bashford Dean.) 



70 



Our Food Mollusks 






lected and reared in ponds in the time of Angnstus, for 
on these vases are designs in perspective, representing 
oyster ponds and objects used in the capture of oysters. 
There are also inscriptions that 
make the meaning of the artist cer- 
tain. The simple methods of oys- 
ter culture in use to-day at Lake 
Fusaro and the Gulf of Tarente 
are apparently identical with those 
of the Romans of two thousand 
years ago. Stakes are driven into 
the bottom enclosing small rectan- 
gular spaces. These are connected 
by means of ropes from which are 
suspended bundles of twigs. On 
this brush the swimming young of 
the oyster attach. They are left 
in this position to grow to mar- 
ketable size, or are removed and 
spread out in wicker baskets, 
which also are suspended from 
ropes. As tides are not great, 
they are seldom exix)sed. 
Oyster culture, as it is carried on in various parts of 
the world to-day, is everywhere essentially the same 
process, but what may be called modern methods are of 
independent origin in Europe, in Japan, and in our own 
country. During the first half of the nineteenth cen- 
tury, natural beds in Europe and America were still large 
enough to satisfy the demands of the markets, but in the 
last fifty years very rapid social changes have occurred, 
one result being that many of the luxuries of previous 
times became common necessities, especially in our own 




Fig. i8. — Portugese 
oyster ( O s t r e a 
augulata). 



Oyster Culture In Europe and Japan 71 

country. Among other things, the demand for oysters 
increased enormously. This soon resuUed in the de- 
struction of natural oyster beds, and the development of 
artificial means of supplying the market. 

In the early part of the nineteenth century, natural 
oyster beds were numerous on certain parts of the 
French and English coasts. The history of their de- 
struction is valuable, because it shows liow entirely mis- 
leading statistics may become in matters of this kind. 
In Cancale Bay, on the northern coast of France, com- 
paratively few^ oysters were taken during the last of the 
Napoleonic wars, and the beds, having been undisturbed, 
had become very extensive. In 1817 dredging began 
again without interruption from English war vessels, 
and during that year, great numbers of oysters were 
marketed from these beds. Year after year they in- 
creased. Every one connected with the industry 
came to regard the natural beds as inexhaustible. A dec- 
ade passed, then a second and a third, and each year the 
supply was greater than the last, until, in 1843, seventy 
million oysters were marketed. If, during that time, any 
warning voice had been raised, it certainly would not 
have been heard. If any one had been able to attract at- 
tention by his statement that the beds were becoming ex- 
hausted, he would have been effectually silenced by the 
statistics. It would have been useless to show that each 
year the number of fishermen was greater, and that the 
time and labor required in obtaining a boat-load was 
rapidly lengthening. The significant thing to consumers 
would have been that oysters in the market were increas- 
ing in numbers. 

This has been the experience in our own country, where 
the people may control such conditions more directly, 



72 Our Food Mollusks 

and perhaps more easily, than would have been possible 
in the monarchical France of that day. The marvelous 
natural wealth of Chesapeake Bay, as well as that of 
other great natural oyster fields, has been nearly de- 
stroyed, and the naturalist who was able to predict the 
present condition with perfect certainty, had studied the 
natural beds and the habits and life history of the oyster 
while the public studied the display in the fish markets, 
and, perhaps, statistical statements concerning the num- 
ber of oysters brought to them. Fortunately artificial 
beds have proved to be much more prolific than the 
natural bottoms, but in nearly all cases, oyster culture 
has been resorted to only after the natural supply has 
been practically destroyed. 

The inevitable change came to the Cancale Bay fish- 
eries in the middle of the century. From that time the 
supply failed with great rapidity, as it usually does in 
such cases, until, in the year 1868, only about a million 
oysters were obtained, where, for so many years, more 
than fifty times that number were dredged each season. 
The natural beds had been practically destroyed through 
excessive dredging. 

A similar destruction occurred at about the same time 
in the districts of Marennes, Rochefort, the island of 
Oleron and elsewhere on the French coast, and also in 
the oyster bays of England. Everywhere the cause was 
the same. 

For such a condition of affairs two remedies are al- 
ways possible. The supply may again be increased by 
enforcing a long close season, or a new and artificial in- 
dustry may be developed. Obviously the latter is the 
only practicable course to pursue. All of the more 
valuable sources of the world's food are founded on arti- 



Oyster Culture in Europe and Japan 73 

ficial propagation. Wheat, corn, and many other do- 
mesticated food plants, do not even exist in a wild state. 
Under domestication there is almost no limit but land 
area to the possibilities of their increase. The world's 
supply of beef, pork, and mutton, being under man's 
control, is limited only by the amount of grain and hay 
that he is able to raise for feed. Why should he not 
also be able to control many of the animals of the sea, 
that bears a vast supply of nourishment on which they 
may thrive ? 

France adopted a wise policy. Dredging was greatly 
restricted, but investigations were begun in the hope that 
the beds might be reclaimed by artificial means. As a 
first step, M. de Bon, Commissioner of Marine, was di- 
rected, in 1853, to attempt to restock the old beds of the 
Ranee and Saint Malo. This he did by transplanting 
oysters from the Bay of Cancale. He was an acute and 
accurate observer, and able to detect the significance of 
what he saw. The transplanted oysters not only flour- 
ished, but some of them, placed on beaches where they 
were exposed at low tide, were able to reproduce them- 
selves as when continually immersed. It then occurred 
to De Bon that if the young oysters, or " spat," could 
be collected here and placed on favorable and con- 
venient bottoms, the laborious process of dredging could 
be done away with altogether, and that oysters could be 
reared without the use of boats, and marketed at 
pleasure. 

It was a great idea, and De Bon at once began to 
devise some feasible means of capturing the swimming 
oyster embryos. Constructing platforms of planks, 
some inches above the parent oysters on the bottom, he 
covered them with bundles of twigs, in the hope that the 



74 Our Food MoUusks 

swimming young might find in this brush a suitable sub- 
stance on which to attach. This hope was fulfilled, the 
experiment became widely known, and the beginnings of 
modern oyster culture had been made in Europe. 

At the time of these observations, M. Coste, Professor 
of Embryology in the College of France, became greatly 
interested in the ancient and primitive culture methods 
which he had examined at Lake Fusaro, in Italy. He 
seems to have been imaginative, energetic, optimistic, and 
persuasive. He conceived the idea of transporting this 
obscure Italian industry to the depleted shores of his own 
country, and attracted a great deal of attention by the 
publication of his views in 1855. He suggested means 
similar to those employed in Italy for collecting the 
*' spat," and proposed that a trial of them be made in the 
salt lakes in the south of France. 

He succeeded in interesting Emperor Napoleon III, 
who two years later commissioned him to make experi- 
ments along the lines which he had suggested. On mak- 
ing a tour of the French coast, he received a great sur- 
prise on viewing the work of De Bon. There, before 
his eyes, were flourishing oysters, not only transplanted, 
but reproducing themselves in an exposed position be- 
tween tide lines, and this he had formerly declared could 
not occur. With a mind fired by the possibilities re- 
vealed, he published a report to the Emperor, in which 
he drew a vivid and optimistic picture of the entire coast 
of France converted into a great oyster garden and 
bearing an inexhaustible supply of food. 

M. Coste now constructed beds at various points in the 
Bay of Saint Brieuc, deposited mature oysters over shells 
previously spread on the bottom to serve as collectors, 
and suspended bundles of brush for the same purpose. 



Oyster Culture in Europe and Japan 75 

At the end of the spawning season, these collectors were 
well covered with young oysters. He now began in 
earnest the task of reclaiming the coast, and large areas 
at Toulon, Brest, and Arcaclion, were covered with 
oysters, many of them imported from England for the 
purpose. Now, too, stimulated by the success of Coste, 
private interests began rapidly to develop the new in- 
dustry, especially on the coasts of Normandy and Brit- 
tany. Beds were constructed in many localities, and the 
work proceeded with great enthusiasm. 

In many places the initial successes were gratifying. 
It became certain that oysters transplanted from natural 
beds to other bottoms would grow well, in the majority 
of cases, though often they did not spawn. So much 
had been gained, however, that for three or four years a 
spirit of great expectation prevailed. 

Then, in the following years, came reverses, dis- 
appointments, failures, and disasters. Fishermen de- 
spoiled the natural beds. Storms scattered the oysters 
that had been planted in the shallow waters. The beds 
of Saint Brieuc, especially, suffered from wave action, 
the brush collectors being torn from the bottoms, broken, 
and swept away. The natural beds had become so 
greatly reduced in supplying breeding oysters that 
regions formerly producing every year a good set of 
young became barren. Apparently the brilliant plan of 
Coste had failed. Discredited, disappointed, and finally 
completely discouraged, he died, perhaps not dreaming 
that in time — not quickly, as he had hoped, but in the 
course of normal growth — the conditions which he had 
predicted were, in large part, to be realized. 

One fact of importance, underlying these events, has 
received little or no attention. It is not simply that the 



76 Our Food Mollusks 

life and experience of Coste afford a beautiful example 
of the dangers of optimism, though that is an important 
subject on which much might be said. It is that the 
most important element in this disaster to an industry 
which, with rare good fortune, had begun so auspi- 
ciously, was the failure to study the oyster from a 
biological point of view at the very beginning. Had 
Coste known that the European oyster is able to re- 
produce only in water of a certain definite degree 
of salinity, or density, and that such waters are to be 
found in comparatively few localities on the French 
coast; had he discovered that the oysters' food is abun- 
dant only in certain localities, where peculiar conditions 
are necessary for its production; had he investigated the 
bearing of tide currents on the distribution of food and 
of oyster embryos; in short, had he known the oyster 
in relation to its surroundings, the greatest of his dis- 
appointments would never have occurred, and the in- 
dustry itself, instead of being discredited and retarded 
by arousing public suspicion against claims made in the 
name of science, would have grown without loss of time 
and wealth. 

The present application of these reflections is to those 
well-meaning critics of our institutions founded for the 
purpose of promoting a scientific study of animals and 
plants useful to man. Our state agricultural schools, 
and our state and national fish commissions, often pub- 
lish at public expense, technical papers that seemingly 
have no bearing on any economic problem. This is 
sometimes the subject of adverse comment, but not so 
frequently as in the past. It is cause for congratulation 
that the public is learning that a detailed knowledge of 
the nature of organisms and their relations to their sur- 



Oyster Culture in Europe and Japan 77 

roiindings is the first logical and necessary step toward 
their control by man. We are beginning to give these 
institutions credit for the great benefits that have been 
derived from their researches. 

After its disheartening experience, the French in- 
dustry began to revive. One extremely important 
feature of its subsequent growth was the lease of oyster 
grounds by the state to individuals. What had for- 
merly been public property, now came under the control 
of private interests, ambitious to make it as productive 
as possible. These also were afforded protection, and as 
a consequence, capital was invested in large amounts. 
That this was the only wise course to pursue, has since 
been proved in every country in which an oyster industry 
has been developed, and it is because such a policy has 
not yet been adopted by any of our Atlantic states 
toward the clam industry, that it has declined into its 
present state. Common sense indicates and the histor- 
ical record proves that this is one of the fundamental re- 
quirements for the artificial rearing of any form. 

Slowly the important facts concerning the conditions 
necessary for the increase of the oyster were learned and 
applied. It was found that a method, successful in one 
locality, might not succeed in another. Each region 
had its own peculiar problems, and these were solved one 
after another by patient experiment. It is recorded that 
in 1871, at Arcachon, 1,450 acres of public ground were 
leased in private holdings. In 1875, there were 2,434 
concessions, covering 6,625 acres. Their number in- 
creased at various points, and to-day the industry is a 
very extensive one. 

French culture methods of the present are more com- 
plicated than those employed in our own country. This 



78 Our Food Mollusks 

is especially true of the means used for the capture of 
the swimming embryos. There are but two places on the 
French coast where oysters spawn regularly in abund- 
ance. Here, at Arcachon and Auray, attention is given 
chiefly to the collection of the young, which are sent to 
various parts of the coast to be reared in what are called 
parks — walled areas between tide lines. 

The collection of young oysters is a very much more 
serious problem in European waters than in our own. 
There the great salinity of the water restrains the repro- 
ductive process, while in almost all localities where our 
oysters are found, they are extremely prolific, and it is 
interesting to observe that when they are transported to 
European waters, they also become sterile. The water 
is very muddy on European shores. On settling, this 
mud forms so soft a bottom that young oysters sinking 
on it perish at once. A hard object to be used as a 
collector is also very quickly coated with mud and slime, 
so that an oyster embryo that has succeeded in at- 
taching, is in danger of being lost even here. After this 
coat has formed on the collector, attachment is impossi- 
ble. For this reason, the American method of covering 
the bottom with clean shells to capture the spat would 
be relatively ineffective. 

Whej-e waters are least muddy, bundles of twigs are 
employed, after the ancient practice of the Romans. In 
shallow water, where these can readily be handled, some 
of the sediment may be washed off, giving sufficient time 
for attachment. If oysters are well spaced on the 
branches, the bundle may be allowed to remain sus- 
pended during the period of growth. If they are closely 
set, the twigs may be broken into small pieces and spread 
on some hard bottom, or in racks that have been pre- 



Oyster Culture in Europe and Japan 79 

pared for them. Board platforms, placed one above an- 
other with slight spaces between, are also used in the 
collection of spat. After the young adhering to these 
have attained a sufficient size, they are removed by means 
of a knife. 

Brush and boards, however, will not serve in most 
localities, because both so rapidly become coated with 
slime. In the development of the industry it became 
necessary to devise some other form of collector that 
would overcome this difficulty. The object that proved 
most successful was a roofing tile. The form of tile 
now commonly in use is a little more than a foot in 
length, about six inches wide, and has a slight arc of 
about one-fifth of a circle. When these are placed in 
the water with the hollow or concave side down, very 
little slime attaches to that surface, which is thus favor- 
able for attachment (Figure 19). 

The young oyster is very firmly cemented to the ob- 
ject to which it is attached. To remove it from a tile 
would usually necessitate the breaking of the shell, and 
this would result in its death. To allow it to remain on 
the tile to grow to marketable size, would be impracti- 
cable for several reasons, chief among which is that so 
many young usually attach to a single tile that they 
would crowd each other, and the growth of all would be 
interfered with. When tile collectors were first used, 
therefore, they were broken into pieces after the attach- 
ment of the young, and in such a way that an oyster was 
borne on each piece. This required much skill and labor, 
and the destruction of the tiles made the process ex- 
pensive. 

After a time an extremely ingenious plan was devised 
which made the tile collector almost perfect for 



8o Our Food Mollusks 

European oyster beds. The idea was to cover the tiles 
with a crust of some substance that could easily be re- 
moved after the oysters had become fixed to it. After 
some experimenting, a cement was invented that an- 
swered all requirements, and it is in use all along the 
coast to-day. It is a mixture of quick-lime and sea 
water to which is added enough fine sand or mud to give 
it the consistency of thick cream. Into this, dry tiles are 
dipped, and coated with a layer of the mixture having a 
thickness of about a millimeter. The coat is thoroughly 
dried before the collector is placed in the water. After 
several weeks of immersion, it softens somewhat by the 
action of the sea water, and, though still firm enough to 
adhere while the tile is being handled, it flakes off 
readily in the process of removing the young oysters. 
This is effected by means of a flat knife-blade. When 
the crust bearing the spat has thus been removed, the tiles 
are stored to be coated and used again during the next 
spawning season. In this way the same collectors are 
used for several years. At Arcachon and Auray it is 
estimated that each tile annually affords attachment to 
about two hundred oysters. 

The spawning season is not sharply limited. As in 
the case of the American oyster, some young appear in 
the water at almost all times of the year. But the great 
majority are produced in the early summer, and it is a 
matter of great importance to the French culturist to 
determine the time of their appearance. If tiles were 
immersed for any length of time before spawning be- 
gan, even their concave surfaces would become so con- 
taminated with slime, that attachment would be inter- 
fered with. Salinity of the water, temperature, and 
other conditions that vary from year to year, determine 



Oyster Culture in Europe and Japan 8i 

the spawning time, so that there can be no set date for 
the laying of the collectors. By close observation, the 
most favorable time is determined each year for the cap- 
ture of the maximum number. This is usually near the 
end of July, and the spat continue to appear in numbers 
until the middle of August. 

Two hundred small oysters might perhaps be left with 
safety on the surface of a single tile during the winter 
months when growth is not rapid. Indeed, this is often 
done in the warmer southern waters ; but on the north 
coast there is always great danger from frost. As the 
collectors are so placed that they are exposed at low tide, 
many of the young would be killed by the cold; so in Oc- 
tober, when the shells have attained a diameter of half 
or three-quarters of an inch, they are removed from the 
tiles and shipped to the eleveurs, or culturists, who place 
them in water deep enough to preserve them during the 
winter. 

The young are hardy enough to endure a journey last- 
ing three or four days, especially at this time of the year. 
From the collecting places, they are sent to all parts of 
the French coast, as well as to neighboring countries. 
Great numbers are sold in England, where, however, the 
fact is concealed as carefully as possible, because, like 
any other people, the English consider their own 
products superior to others. The collection and sale 
of spat is so extensive as to be an important industry in 
itself, and this is a feature of oyster culture that should 
be much more extensively developed in our own country. 

An American oyster culturist would probably be ap- 
palled by the adverse conditions that confront the in- 
dustry in European waters. He himself has much to 
contend against, but his task is not diflficult in compari- 



82 Our Food Mollusks 

son with that of the European ciikurist. There is one 
fundamental difference between the two industries. In 
America, except on the Pacific coast, oyster grounds are 
all below the tide lines, and some are in very deep water. 
In Europe they lie between the tide lines. Deep water 
farming is not possible on the coast of Europe, but there 
is no natural condition that would prevent the employ- 
ment of European methods here. 

But the time can not yet be seen when it may be profit- 
able to utilize the beaches for oyster culture in America, 
though the imagination is excited when one views the 
immense wastes of salt marsh bomiding much of our 
Atlantic coast, that might, if expense were no object, 
probably successfully be converted into innumerable 
oyster ponds. Whether or not the utilization of our 
marsh lands will ever be attempted, the difficulties that 
have been overcome by the European culturist are very 
interesting. He leases a plot of ground on a flat that 
is exposed for a considerable period each day at low 
water, and in most cases much labor is necessary to pre- 
pare it before it can be used for rearing young oysters. 
Enemies are numerous. Among them are the starfish 
that infest the bottom — slow-moving, harmless appear- 
ing creatures, but the most voracious and deadly of the 
foes of the oyster; crabs, the powerful claws of which 
are able to crush the fragile shells of the young; and 
drilling mollusks that pierce the shell even of adult 
oysters and consume the soft part enclosed within. 
These also must be avoided or destroyed. To all this 
may be added the fact that bottoms are often so soft 
that they will not bear more than a man's weight. Such 
a condition alone might seem sufficient to make oyster 
culture impossible. 




Fig. 20. Arcachon, F"rancc '' : ..arks with low clay- 
walls. Water is retained in those at the right at the low 
tide, that at the left being emptied for repairs. 






I* Id. 21. Arcachon. Parks witii somewiiat higher walls con- 
taining cases for the growing voung. Fignres from Pro- 
fessor Bashford Dean. U. S. F.' C. Bulletin. 



Oyster Culture in Europe and Japan 83 

The difficulties that have been enumerated are met by 
converting the ground into a series of basins by means 
of walls or dikes. These ponds are variable in form 
and in area, but are usually rectangles of two or three 
hundred square yards. The walls are often simple and 
inexpensive. Very shallow basins, like those shown in 
Figure 20, are easily constructed. To form the wall, 
parallel lines of planks are held in position on edge by 
means of wooden pegs. Parallel lines of stakes are also 
sometimes employed, the space between being filled with 
soil. If tide currents are strong, stones are used with 
the other filling material, in order to give sufficient 
strength to the wall. In some localities it has been profit- 
able to build walls of solid masonry, but this construction 
is usually resorted to only when a large area, to be 
flooded to a considerable depth, is to be shut off from the 
sea. The height of the wall varies from a few inches 
to several feet. At some favorable point in the wall, 
a gate is constructed that, when closed, may retain the 
water that enters at high tide. 

The bottom of the basin must now be prepared. In 
the better parks, the center is made a little higher than 
the margins, where trenches are often dug, in order that 
sediment, settling on the bottom, may be carried 
into them. When the gate of the full basin is opened, 
the current leaving the inclosure by these is sufficient to 
carry away much of the soft silt. After the bottom has 
been roughly shaped, it is sometimes hardened by pound- 
ing, and is covered by a layer of clay or sand and gravel. 
If the soil in the walls is pervious, these also are lined 
with clay in order that water may be retained. 

It is interesting to observe that bottoms, originally of 
the softest mud, are easily reclaimed and made hard and 



84 Our Food Mollusks 

firm by a covering of shells or of sand and gravel, and 
that this covering need be only a few inches in thickness. 
Shifting sand on w^hicli oyster parks are built is also 
held in place by a layer of clay. 

In the simple basins illustrated in Figure 20, oysters 
of sufficient size are spread over the bottom and left to 
grow. At low tide they remain covered, and may thus 
continue to feed until a new supply of water comes with 
the flood tide. They are also protected from the sun of 
summer and the frost of winter seasons. Not all sedi- 
ment will drain away, even though the gates are opened 
frequently, and though the bottoms have been arched 
from center to margins. When a quantity of mud has 
collected, oysters are removed^ from one basin to an- 
other until the bottom has been cleaned. 

But the entire process of removing young oysters 
cannot be carried on in basins as simple as those shown 
in the illustration. So much mud is deposited that small 
oysters would be smothered. These seed oysters are 
from half an inch to an inch in diameter, and must be 
protected from sediment until they are much larger. 

This necessity for the protection of the very young 
has led to the construction of racks or boxes designed to 
suspend them above the bottom. It is very important 
also to insure a free flow of water within the boxes, so 
these are made with narrow wooden sides, the tops and 
bottoms being constructed of galvanized wire netting. 
The top netting is fastened to a wooden frame provided 
with hinges, or so fitted that it may be lifted off. The 
box is then suspended a few inches above the bottom on 
stakes. 

Such boxes are represented in Figure 21. Evidently 
they are roughly and cheaply made, but a large number 



Oyster Culture in Europe and Japan 85 

would be required to provide a means of livelihood for 
the most unambitious eleveur, and his initial expense 
would be considerable. But, properly cared for, these 
boxes serve for many seasons. If carefully tarred each 
year, they may be kept in use for ten, or sometimes 
twenty years. Occasionally more elaborate boxes are 
constructed that hold a number of trays, but all are built 
on essentially the same plan. 

Not only are these cases necessary as a protection 
against mud, but there is great advantage in their posi- 
tion on the flats between tide lines ; for, being exposed 
at low water, oysters may readily be placed in them, 
sorted from time to time, and finally removed. The 
cases, also, may be repaired with ease. When cases 
are used in enclosed parks, it of course is necessary that 
the surrounding walls should be high enough to hold 
sufficient water to cover them. 

The young oysters that have been removed from tile 
collectors are at first spread evenly, but closely, in the 
bottom of the cases, and as they increase in size, are re- 
moved a few at a time and placed in other cases in order 
that all may have food and a sufficient amount of water 
for aeration. The number of food organisms brought 
to the growing young varies in different localities along 
the shore, and for this reason there is a difference in the 
length of time during which they must be kept. In some 
localities, two years are sufficient, while in many others 
they must be cared for during a third, a fourth, or even 
a fifth year, before attaining marketable size. 

It sometimes happens that lamellibranchs of various 
species, living in certain localities, collect in the gills and 
in parts of the mantle, a quantity of chlorophyl, the 
green coloring matter characteristic of most plants. 



86 Our Food Mollusks 

Green oysters appear in certain basins along the Eu- 
ropean coast, and the color has happened to strike the 
popular fancy. Such oysters are practically unmarket- 
able in America, where they also appear, though they 
are as wholesome as any others ; but in Europe, and in 
France in particular, they are very highly prized by 
connoisseurs on account of their " peculiarly delicate 
and delicious flavor" — which, if it exists at all, does 
not arise from the green coloring matter. 

Most of the green oysters found in the European 
markets come from Marennes in France. Here in the 
tide basins are great numbers of green diatoms, organ- 
isms used by oysters for food, that collect in such num- 
bers that they form what is termed a " moss." To this 
is ascribed the green color assumed by oysters growing 
near it. Here it was discovered by the culturists that 
the " moss " developed most rapidly in very muddy in- 
closures in which water was seldom changed. These 
basins, or claires, are usually situated so high as to be 
filled only once or twice during the month. The tem- 
perature of water held in such a manner rises several 
degrees, and this condition is found to be very favorable 
to the multiplication of diatoms. But while it produces 
oyster food in great abundance, the water loses so much 
of its oxygen during its stagnation, that it affects oysters 
adversely. Those individuals that are able to endure 
the conditions, are said to fatten rapidly, but the mor- 
tality is usually great, being in most cases at least 
fifty in a hundred. There is an extreme variation in 
the rate at which the green coloration is acquired 
by the living oysters, the necessary time in some 
claires being two or three weeks, in others as many 
months. 



Oyster Culture in Europe and Japan 87 

Great attention is paid to the appearance of these 
oysters before they are marketed. After a period of 
rapid feeding, there is apt to be some outward sign of 
the dark colored matter contained in the digestive tract. 
In order that this may be removed, the oysters are placed 
in inclosures containing clear water, and allowed to re- 
main for a week or more, during which time very little 
food is consumed. They are then removed, and not only 
are the shells thoroughly scrubbed with a brush to re- 
move any trace of mud, but any marked roughness is re- 
duced by a process of scraping. It is not necessary to 
contrast their appearance with that of oysters marketed 
in the shell in America. 



Oyster Culture in Japan 

Oysters have been cultivated in Japan for several cen- 
turies. We are told that in ancient times a certain clam, 
Tapes, was gathered in the Sea of Aki and kept, 
awaiting shipment to market, in inclosures made of 
bamboo. It was discovered that in certain places young 
oysters attached to the brush of the bamboo, and that 
their position was so favorable for growth that it became 
profitable to capture them in this way, and rear them in 
inclosures. Thus, gradually, oyster culture displaced 
the Tapes industry. 

Two species of oysters grow on Japanese shores. The 
one that occurs most commonly and is reared by the cul- 
turists, is known as Ostrea cucullata. It has the gen- 
eral appearance of our Atlantic oyster, but is somewhat 
smaller. Its cultivation is practised most extensively in 
the Inland Sea. 



88 Our Food Mollusks 

On the southern and eastern coasts, a very sixxdil 
oyster, possibly a variety of O. cucullata, grows in great 
numbers in the shallow waters of bays and inlets. The 
shell rarely attains a length of more than two inches. 
This oyster encrusts the rocks between tide lines, and 
cannot be removed without breaking the shell. The 
fishermen therefore go among the rocks at low tide, and 
open the oysters without attempting to detach them. 

Another distinct species. Ostrea gigas, an extremely 
large and heavy form, is found in a few localities on the 
Japanese coast. It seldom occurs in very shallow waters, 
where other oysters are commonly found, but at a depth 
of ten or twelve fathoms. Though this oyster is used 
for food, it is so rarely taken that it does not often ap- 
pear in the market. Its habit of life in deep water per- 
haps has made its culture impossible. 

Because the habits of all oysters are very similar, the 
methods employed in rearing the Japanese oyster, though 
entirely independent in origin, are essentially like those 
of Europe and America. In the Inland Sea, as else- 
where, oysters require for the process of reproduc- 
tion the comparatively fresh waters of bays receiving 
streams from the land. On the Japanese coast, as in 
Europe, localities having waters of the optimum density 
are limited in area and more or less narrowly defined. 
At certain points, however, it is possible for the culturist 
to obtain his own set of young, and rear them for mar- 
ket on a single small plot of bottom which he has 
rented. In Europe it is almost everywhere necessary 
for him to purchase his young oysters from another 
who possesses ground on the very few bottoms favorable 
for oyster reproduction. 

Japanese culturists have not adopted the tile collector 



Oyster Culture in Europe and Japan 89 

of the European industry, but retain the ancient and ef- 
fective brush collector. For this, the light, strong bam- 
boo is employed. It serves its purpose admirably, and 
is easily obtained. Short pieces, usually bearing their 
branches, are thrust into the bottom between tide lines. 
In this position they are easily examined and kept in 
order. There is little trouble from mud, or the forma- 
tion of slime. The collectors, arranged in lines or clus- 
ters so as best to be exposed to the currents, are set out 
in the early spring, and young oysters begin to appear 
near the middle of April and continue to attach for some 
weeks. The character of such a collecting ground is 
well shown in Figures 22 and 23. Here the bamboo 
rods are arranged in long rows, three or four feet in 
height. 

If left to themselves, young oysters, greatly crowded 
on the stakes, would not be able to attain a rounded 
form, and very many would perish. So those oysters 
that have attained a certain size are detached from the 
collectors and removed to a deeper bottom, that has 
been prepared for them. On this they are immersed for 
a longer period each day and grow more rapidly in con- 
sequence. Oysters are from one to two years old when 
thus spread on the bottom, and remain for another year 
or two before attaining marketable size. Very few 
enemies trouble them. One or two species of boring 
mollusks appear at certain points on the coast, but these 
may easily be removed at low tide. The starfish gives 
little trouble. 

Usually the larger oysters from such a bed are re- 
moved from time to time, and placed in still lower beds 
where they are uncovered but once or twice each month, 
and here they attain the greatest possible rate of growth. 



90 Our Food Mollusks 

In this way are produced fine, large oysters much like 
our own in size. 

Many natural conditions make oyster culture easier in 
Japan than in Europe. The coastal waters are less 
muddy ; there is no necessity for artificial ponds ; oysters 
reproduce over a large area; the cheap bamboo is a good 
collector, and is easily handled; and there are few 
natural enemies to contend against. 

It is fortunate, also, that oyster grounds in Japan are 
not exploited as a government monopoly, but are rented 
to private interests, for it is only in this way that the 
greatest success in such an industry is possible. 




CHAPTER VI 

CONDITIONS GOVERNING OYSTER 
GROWTH— OYSTER PLANT- 
ING IN AMERICA 

YSTER culture in America is very simple as 
compared with that in Europe. There it is 
difficult to obtain the young, or the " seed," 
and laborious and costly methods are resorted 
to in effecting its capture, and in protecting it during the 
period of its growth. Here seed is abundant, growth is 
vigorous, and bottoms are naturally better adapted to 
the industry. 

The complicated methods, necessary for success in Eu- 
rope, will not be employed in this country until the price 
of oysters is relatively very much higher than it is there. 
These foreign methods if introduced on our shores, 
would reclaim much marshy shore-land now entirely un- 
productive, and the American oyster would undoubtedly 
respond to the treatment as the foreign form does. 
Nevertheless, it will be many decades before the simpler 
American method will be superseded by any other on our 
coasts, if indeed the event ever occurs. 

There are two reasons for such a belief. One is that 
the area along the American coast available for oyster 
culture after the less expensive American method, is 
enormous. No one can now accurately estimate its ex- 
tent. It includes not only the territory formerly occu- 
pied by " wild " oysters, but also great tracts where 

91 



92 Our Food Mollusks 

oysters have never existed, and which may be discovered 
by intelhgently directed experiment. Already many of 
these have been determined in Long Island Sound, where 
oysters are successfully cultivated miles from shore, 
and under water as deep as one hundred feet. Else- 
where on the coast, these unoccupied areas have hardly 
been considered ; but in certain localities, as in Pamlico 
Sound, and about the delta of the Mississippi, they will 
undoubtedly prove to be very extensive. 

For yet another reason, European methods can hardly 
obtain in this country. Extensive oyster culture abroad 
would, on account of the labor involved, be impossible 
without a social caste system. This is everywhere pres- 
ent in Europe, and, to a genuine American, presents an 
appalling state of affairs. Even in republican France, 
society retains a real reverence for its princes and its 
counts, and every other nation but Switzerland staggers 
under the heavy burden of an idle and expensive aristoc- 
racy. Below its members in the scale are the middle 
classes, the trades people, subservient to their superiors, 
and often brutally contemptuous of the under stratum, 
the common people. The latter, born into humility, sel- 
dom have independence bred into them, but calmly sub- 
mit to their heaven-sent estate. And they obediently la- 
bor for a pittance that an Americanized Oriental would 
scorn. It is this one condition that makes oyster culture 
possible in Europe. 

Labor of that character would be necessary if the 
same method of oyster culture were to become profitable 
in the United States. That it ever will exist here is im- 
probable. It is, however, interesting to observe that 
European social customs continue to have a great influence 
on our own. Some of us believe that they do things bet- 



Conditions Governing Oyster Growth 93 

ter there. Waves of fashion in (h^ess, and manners, and 
social customs, sometimes degrading enough, continually 
roll toward our shores from abroad. Though these 
break and spend their force largely on the northern 
coast, some of them continue westward across the con- 
tinent as very noticeable ripples. Not all of them are 
alarming, and some sinister ones may hardly succeed in 
crossing the ocean, but they are all worthy of attention. 

Much more interesting is the growing aristocracy of 
wealth that is desperately striving to establish itself 
among us, and it is inevitable that there should be many 
who regard it complacently. A little too frequently in 
speech, and even in the editorial writings of leading jour- 
nals, appear such phrases as '' our middle class " or " our 
common people." Even this attempted social segrega- 
tion of the few persons of great wealth, however, is not 
disturbing in view of the fact that, with every year, 
democracy more clearly appears to be the fundamental 
element of the nation's life. 

The chief differences between the oyster culture of the 
continent, in Europe, and that of our own shores, are 
that here oysters are cultivated below tide lines; we 
neither employ tile spat collectors, construct reservoirs 
for the growing young, or for the growth of diatoms on 
which they feed, nor build racks on which to support 
them above the bottom. Small oysters from natural 
beds are spread on suitable bottoms to mature, or the 
swimming young are captured on simple collectors, and 
planted in the same way. There has been little change 
of procedure since the days of the City Island men who 
began oyster culture in America, because natural condi- 
tions have remained so favorable that a change has not 
been necessary. 



94 Our Food Mollusks 

Success in oyster farming, however, is not so easy of 
attainment as it may appear to be. There are a great 
many necessary details to be learned, especially in regard 
to the natural requirements of the oyster. One should 
be able to recognize suitable bottoms. Water currents 
must be considered. One must know the varying ef- 
fects of muddy water on mature oysters and swimming 
larvae. A low temperature of the water in the spring 
or early summer, while not apparently harmful to adult 
oysters, may be sufficient to prevent reproduction. In the 
north, water less than a certain depth may be dangerous 
in winter. It is important to know the extremes of 
salinity within which oysters can live. The successful 
oyster farmer should also know the optimum density for 
adult and young alike. The amount of food in the 
water, of course, vitally affects rapidity of growth and 
the condition of oysters. Thus it is not always easy to 
select areas that conform to all the conditions necessary 
for success. 

For many reasons the character of the bottom must be 
carefully considered. A rocky or very uneven surface is 
out of the question, but bottoms rough from the presence 
of small obstructions are sometimes made suitable for 
oyster planting, even in deep water, by a thorough scrap- 
ing with dredges. 

Over the greater part of the oyster territory bottoms 
are more or less muddy, and the nature of this mud must 
be determined. On many of the best northern oyster 
grounds there is but a thin surface layer of it covering a 
firmer foundation. This, without any preparation, is 
found to afiford a secure resting place for planted oysters. 
In many parts of the Gulf of Mexico, however, the bot- 
tom is composed of mud so soft and oozy that a pole may 



Conditions Governing Oyster Growth 95 

be driven into it, by force of hand alone, to a deptli of 
several feet. It is very generally believed that such con- 
ditions cannot be overcome, the assumption being that 
any kind of pavement placed on it would sink below the 
surface. That such is not true, will be shown in the 
discussion of the Louisiana field. In parts of Long 
Island Sound, where mud is deep but not so soft as in 
the Gulf, bottoms have been successfully prepared by 
paving with shells or with sand and gravel. Bottoms 
naturally sandy are also often selected by the oyster 
farmer, but under shallow water, where they may be 
shifted by wave action, they are unsafe. It is specially 
desirable that the bottom should be firm, to withstand 
wave or tide action where spat is to be gathered oji col- 
lectors, for the young are quickly smothered in a quan- 
tity of mud that would not seriously affect mature 
oysters. 

The oyster finds almost its entire food supply in 
diatoms of various species. These are floating plants, 
microscopically small, which derive their nourishment 
from substances brought down in solution from the land. 
Their distribution along the coast is universal. They are 
not confined to the surface, but may be found at all 
depths. Every one has noticed the brown coat left on 
the surface of a clam flat when it is exposed at low 
water. When examined, this is found to contain vast 
numbers of diatoms, though it is not by any means en- 
tirely or even chiefly composed of them, as sometimes 
stated. 

The amount of available oyster food over a given area 
depends largely on water currents. Where there is no 
current, oysters quickly exhaust the water about them 
of the food that it carries. A current continually re- 



96 Our Food Mollusks 

plenishes the supply. Up to a certain point, the more 
rapid the current, the greater will be the amount of 
available food. But one current bears more food than 
another. Salt water, for example, that flows out from 
shallow marshes during the ebb tide, usually bears great 
numbers of diatoms because the marshes are warmer 
than the sea water outside, and the higher temperature 
stimulates a rapid multiplication of these organisms. 
Food is sometimes so abundant that a rapid current is 
not necessary. For this reason it is not possible to give 
a rate that shall be most favorable for oyster growth 
in all localities. 

The presence of suspended silt in the water is a con- 
dition to be observed with care. It is an especially im- 
portant problem in the Gulf of Mexico. There it is 
found that oysters often thrive and reproduce in local- 
ities where, much of the time, the water is very muddy. 
But it is also true that currents in such places are too 
rapid to deposit much of their silt. In more quiet 
waters, where mud slowly collects on the bottom, ma- 
ture oysters may be able to exist, but even a slight deposi- 
tion is fatal to newly attached spat. Finally, there are 
many places where mud collects so rapidly that life on 
the bottom is impossible. Much experience is needed to 
enable one to recognize these conditions, when searching 
for available bottoms not already occupied by oysters. 

Oysters will grow in water having a summer tem- 
perature so low as to prevent reproduction. At several 
points on the coasts of Washington and California, small 
Atlantic seed oysters grow to marketable size. The 
summer temperature is much lower than on the Atlantic 
below Cape Cod, and the sexual products mature only in 
certain warmer coves. Experiments made many years 



Conditions Governing Oyster Growth 97 

ago in North Carolina and in the Chesapeake, indicated 
that reproduction practically ceased when the tempera- 
ture during the breeding season fell below 60° Fahrenheit, 
and that the swimming stage was rarely reached when 
the water was warmer than 80°. But it is probable that 
the minimum temperature at which reproduction is pos- 
sible is nearer 70° than 60°, and it takes place in water 
above 80° in certain parts of the Gulf of Mexico. If the 
facts were known, it might possibly be found that there 
Avere variations in minimum, optimum, and maximum 
temperatures, oysters having accommodated themselves 
to the varying conditions in different localities. 

Because of danger from frost or ice, oysters are not 
left in very shallow water where the winter temperature 
is low. Young oysters, especially, are susceptible to ex- 
treme cold. 

Though a determination of the salinity of the water, 
and a systematic observation of its variations, would be 
of value to oyster culturists, few have interested them- 
selves in the subject. It is nearly as easy to observe 
salinity as temperature. All that is necessary is a simple 
case containing two glass floats (Figure 24), with hollow 
bulbs so weighed that in distilled water, each sinks until 
the surface of the water reaches the zero point on a 
scale borne in the stem. The density of distilled water 
is read i.ooo. 

The salt in solution in sea water prevents the float 
from sinking to so great a depth as this. If the water, 
in a test case, reaches the numeral 9 of the scale, the 
density is read 1.009. This scale measures densities 
from I.ooo to i.oii. The second float bears a scale 
registering densities ranging from i.oio to 1.021, the 
range for both covering variations likely to be found 



98 





c 


! 


LMi- 
Mll 


i 

1 


E 


Mt - 


I 


E 


,m-. 


5 


E 


Mi': 


J 


E 


mil 


S 


: 


m. 


( 


E 


.ML 


1 


: 


.m 


1 


E 


oa» 


9 


z 


m 


l 


-- 


[sal 


1 






Fig. 24. — Salino- 
meter. A glass 
bulb weighted 
with shot and 
carrying a scale 
for measuring 
the amount of 
salt in sea- 
water. 

The extremes 



Our Food MoUusks 

over oyster beds. The floats are about 
eight inches long, and nothing else is 
required but a vessel that will hold a 
column of water of that height, in 
which the apparatus may be immersed. 
Temperature corrections are not neces- 
sary in ordinary observations. 

Surface and bottom densities often 
vary greatly, and obviously that at the 
bottom is the one of greatest interest 
to the oysterman. It may be obtained 
by sinking a corked vessel and then re- 
moving the cork by means of a cord. 

Oysters are brackish water forms. 
Their natural distribution has always 
been close to the shore where waters 
are fresher than in the open sea. If 
other conditions are favorable, they 
will exist in very salt water, but grow 
little, and do not reproduce. On the 
other hand, mature oysters have been 
known to live for some time in water 
nearly fresh. Such an experience, 
however, is always harmful. It some- 
times happens, as in the Carolina field 
and in the Gulf of Mexico, that long 
continued freshets cause widespread 
destruction. On a considerable part 
of the latter shore, especially, the 
freshening of the water is a con- 
tingency on which the oyster culturist 
must take his chances, 
of salinity between which the growth of 



Conditions Governing Oyster Growth 99 

mature oysters is possible, are greater than those limiting' 
reproduction. The optimum has not been precisely de- 
termined in either case. When food and temperature 
conditions are favorable, growth apparently is most rapid 
in water with a salinity varying from about 1.012 to 
1. 01 6. There may be no very narrowly limited opti- 
mum salinity, but whatever its limits, it is possible that 
they are not the same on all parts of the coast. 

In the matter of reproduction, also, very few experi- 
ments have been made to determine the optimum salin- 
ity. Some observations made several years ago indi- 
cated an optimum much lower than that of growth, and 
these are usually quoted. It would naturally be expected 
that the most favorable density for growth would also be 
best for reproduction, and recent observations confirm 
this. Where it has been noticed by a trained observer, 
the best set of spat occurs in water the density of which 
varied between 1.010 and 1.017. Whether or not there 
is an optimum of narrower limits, is not known. 

Sudden changes of density, so common everywhere 
in shallow water near the shore, are always harmful and 
sometimes fatal. Swimming embryos, for example, are 
often destroyed by a fall of rain. Though the resulting 
change of temperature may play a large part in it, it is 
possible that the sudden change of density is also very 
harmful. Recent experiment has proved that the trans- 
planting of oysters to water of a different density, 
whether greater or less, has a bad effect even when the 
difference is slight. If the difference is considerable, 
oysters may cease to grow or may die. These effects are 
specially marked on mature individuals. The very young 
attached oysters are better able to adapt themselves to 
such changes. : 



100 Our Food Mollusks 

It thus appears that the conditions necessary for oyster 
growth are numerous and more or less sharply defined. 
Some writers extolling the peculiar advantages for oyster 
culture afforded by certain untried waters, have had the 
belief that oysters would grow and multiply anywhere 
in them. But the required conditions are as exact as 
those governing the production of wheat, or cotton, or 
rice. It is a fortunate circumstance that the require- 
ments are met by so great a part of our Atlantic and Gulf 
shores. ' Nevertheless there are many localities on these 
coasts where one or more of these conditions are lack- 
ing, and where an attempt at oyster culture might result 
in failure. 

It need not be said that where oysters flourish in a state 
of nature, the conditions are fully met. If one were to 
use only such a locality for his oyster garden, a careful 
study of the conditions governing growth would be un- 
necessary; but the application of such a study has shown 
that vast tracts that have never borne oysters, only lack 
some requirement that may be supplied by the culturist. 
In this way, the productive territory has been greatly ex- 
tended, and is yet capable of vast expansion. 

Oyster Planting 

For the sake of convenience in description, the methods 
of rearing oysters employed in America may arbitrarily 
be separated into two groups, those that have to do with 
oyster planting, and those employed in oyster culture. 

Oyster planting, as here defined, consists in gathering 
oysters from one locality and spreading them out in an- 
other to grow. It is the only culture method employed 
over a considerable part of both of our coasts. In oyster 



Conditions Governing Oyster Growth loi 

planting, the number of oysters is not increased, but only 
those are used that have been produced under natural and 
unmodified conditions. 

The term oyster culture, on the other hand, may con- 
veniently be applied to that process that increases the 
number of oysters by artificial means, as when artificial 
collectors are employed to capture the young that would 
perish if nature were not thus aided. 

In some cases oyster culture has become diversified, a 
division of labor being effected, in which certain individu- 
als devote their entire time and energy to increasing the 
number of oysters by means of artificial collectors, while 
others complete the process by caring for them during 
their growth. 

Usually a barren bottom is selected for planting, as the 
laws of most states reserve the natural beds for seed. 
When this has been cleared, and if necessary, made firm 
by the deposition of shells or sand and gravel, small 
seed oysters are spread evenly over its surface. These 
are allowed to remain until they have attained a market- 
able size, when they are gathered and sold. This method 
is carried on extensively, and often gives large returns for 
the money and labor invested. 

Seed oysters vary greatly in size. Sometimes the al- 
most microscopic young, newly attached to the shells of 
adults or to pebbles, are employed. In other cases, oysters 
two or three inches in length are planted. The usual size 
of seed oysters is perhaps about that of a silver half- 
dollar. 

There are some evident advantages in planting large 
seed oysters. The first is that they need to grow for a 
relatively short time. More important still, they seldom 
need to be disturbed until they are ready for market. 



102 Our Food MoUusks 

When large, they usually have been culled, or separated, 
after they have been taken from the natural bed, and con- 
sequently grow more rapidly and assume a better shape 
than if closely crowded. On the other hand, increase 
in the size of large oysters is relatively slow, and the 
amount of increase is not great. A bushel of very small 
seed may eventually produce ten bushels or more of mar- 
ketable oysters, while seed may sometimes be so large as to 
yield but two or three bushels from the one planted. 

The most important feature of the planting of small 
seed is the possibility of its great increase in volume. In 
Europe, seed oysters as small as one's finger nail are 
carefully separated from each other when removed from 
the collectors on which they have become attached. But 
the price of labor in this country, when compared with 
the market price of oysters, precludes the possibility of 
employing such methods here. So very small oysters 
are planted still attached to the collectors — shells or 
gravel — and allowed to grow for some time closely 
crowded as they are. 

Usually a time comes when they should be removed 
from the bottom and separated in order to prevent crowd- 
ing. This is accomplished much more easily and with 
smaller loss with oysters that have been growing for a 
year or two than with very small seed. Planters natur- 
ally differ greatly in their methods. Some will allow 
small seed to do the best that it can without attention, 
and finally dredge and sell the oysters that have been able 
to attain marketable size. Others really cultivate the 
beds, culling the oysters and removing useless shells, sea- 
weed, and other obstructing material, and they receive 
larger returns, because their oysters are of better shape 
and size. 



Conditions Governing Oyster Growth 103 

There has ahvays been much discussion among those 
who are interested in oyster cuhure over the relative ad- 
vantages of different sections of the coast, especially as 
they concern rapidity of growth. But it is evident from 
the statements that have here been made, that the length 
of time during which planted oysters must be left in the 
water to mature, depends on several factors that must 
vary even in neighboring localities. 

One might ask how long planted oysters must be al- 
lowed to grow in Long Island Sound as compared with 
the Gulf of Mexico, before attaining marketable size. 
But to answer accurately would recjuire a volume of com- 
parisons and averages. The rate of growth may be twice 
as fast on one bed as on another a mile or two distant, 
for it depends on the nature of local currents, tempera- 
ture, salinity, the character of the bottom, and the num- 
ber of oysters placed on it. The size of the seed when 
planted would make it necessary to leave one lot six or 
eight times as long as another. As a matter of fact, this 
time in northern waters varies from six months to three 
or four years. 

The question of relative rapidity of growth in certain 
specified localities is one worth determining when pos- 
sible, and some known cases of increase, from the time 
of the attachment of the embryo, will be mentioned in 
another place. 

After the culturist has prepared the surface of his bed, 
he must determine the number of oysters to be planted on 
it. If there are no other beds in the immediate vicinity 
on which the matter has been tested, he may need to ex- 
periment in order to determine how great a number the 
waters will support. The greatest danger is from over- 
crcnvding, for when numbers reach a certain limit, the 



104 Our Food Mollusks 

food supply will not be sufficient for maximum growth. 
In Long Island Sound the limit is from three hundred to 
six hundred bushels for an acre of bottom. It is quite 
possible that some waters in the South may yet be found 
capable of supporting a greater number. 

On the shore of the continent in Europe, oysters are 
planted between tide lines. There they are spread out 
evenly on the ground at ebb tide, or arranged by hand in 
racks. On our shore, all planting is done below the tide 
lines, so seed oysters must be thrown overboard from 
boats. The planter tries to spread his seed as evenly as 
possible. If he has a large area to cover, he temporarily 
divides it into small plots, by stakes in shallow water, 
and by buoys in deep, and then plants one plot at a time. 

Let us suppose that he has but a few acres that are to be 
planted from skiffs, and that he desires to spread about 
three hundred bushels of seed oysters on an acre. If he 
does his work carefully, he temporarily divides an acre 
into sixteen squares that are somewhat more than fifty 
feet on a side. Loading a skiff with eighteen or nine- 
teen bushels of seed, he takes it to one of the small 
squares, and, with a shovel, flirts the cargo as evenly as 
possible over the area. A like amount, spread in the same 
way on each of the other squares, gives him an evenly 
seeded acre bearing about three hundred bushels. The 
advantages of even planting are obvious, but the work is 
not always done carefully. 

Those who practise planting on a large scale, especially 
in the deeper waters of Long Island Sound, employ steam 
vessels for towing scows, loaded with seed, slowly back 
and forth over an area marked by buoys, while a gang of 
men on each scow unloads it by means of shovels. 

In northern waters especially, planted areas are very 



Conditions Governing Oyster Growth 105 

extensive, and one naturally asks where the planter ob- 
tains his seed. When the states with oyster shores passed 
laws allowing individuals or companies to buy or lease 
bottoms for oyster culture, they very generally reserved 
the natural beds for common seed grounds. Serious 
trouble has arisen everywhere because of the difficulty in 
formulating a satisfactory definition of a natural bed. 
But the plan of reserving wild oysters was essentially a 
good one, because they usually assured a set of spat. 
Planted oysters, of course, also spawn, but it might hap- 
pen in any locality that there would be few or none of 
them left during the breeding season. Planters are usu- 
ally allowed to gather small oysters from natural beds 
for planting. These are culled and placed on new bot- 
toms. In the North, where this has been practised for 
many years, the natural beds in some localities have be- 
come depleted; but in Connecticut, the greatest of seed 
producing states, there are still six thousand acres of 
natural beds that usually yield a large number of seed 
oysters. 

Many years ago the planters of New England and New 
York conceived the plan of purchasing seed from the 
South. There were many localities, especially in the 
Chesapeake, where the set of spat was abundant and 
rarely failed. There was then no planting done in Mary- 
land or Virginia, and the business of transporting seed to 
the North became, and for many years remained, a very 
great one. To-day, however, it has quite passed. 

There were two reasons for this. The people of Vir- 
ginia finally woke to the fact that if it paid to transport 
seed to the North for planting in the relatively unfavor- 
able waters there, it certainly should pay to plant the seed 
already at hand on barren bottoms in their own fertile 



io6 Our Food Mollusks 

waters. Laws were passed giving citizens rights to pri- 
vate holdings, and the planting industry was established. 
The second reason for the decline of seed transportation 
from the South was that northern oystermen learned to 
supply their own needs, and even, finally, to produce more 
seed at home than they required, thus allowing them to 
export to Europe and to transport to the Pacific coast. 
This was accomplished when certain companies and in- 
dividuals gave up oyster planting for collecting alone. 
As on all oyster coasts, there are several specially favored 
localities in Long Island Sound where young oysters 
may be collected in great numbers. Li such places avail- 
able bottoms are utilized for obtaining the young on col- 
lectors, and the material so gathered is sold to planters. 
Much seed is also taken from natural beds. 

This business of collecting and selling seed in northern 
waters is sometimes remunerative, but it is precarious, be- 
cause the set is irregular and beyond control. The total 
number of oysters in Long Island Sound has been increas- 
ing rapidly for many years, but there has not been a pro- 
portionate increase in the set of young. During the sum- 
mer and fall of 1899 there occurred a very profuse and 
long continued set of spat. This year is still spoken of 
as " the year of the great set." Attachment was not con- 
fined to the vicinity of natural beds, but occurred in deep 
water as well. The phenomenon was so general that the 
price of seed oysters became very low. The industry as a 
whole was greatly benefited by the condition, but dealers 
in seed made less from it than did the planters. 

No marked changes in natural conditions were ob- 
served during the next year, but they must have ex- 
isted, for the spawning season was a failure. Hopes for 
the following season, also, were not realized. Up to this 



Conditions Governing Oyster Growth 107 

time, oysters from the set of 1899, now two years old, 
continued to be taken from the natural beds and planted. 
It was thought that the season of 1902 would surely 
bring relief, but no relief came, and the whole industry 
began to suffer. 

It may be imagined that shells from the natural and 
artificial beds were anxiously examined for newly at- 
tached oysters in the early summer of 1903, and that 
alarm was felt when none appeared. The summer and 
then the fall wore away, and the fourth lean year proved 
to be the leanest of all. There was no set on the natural 
beds. Five years previously the great Stratford and 
Bridgeport natural bed alone had yielded more than 
400,000 bushels of seed oysters, and on this year it did 
not produce a bushel. The matter had become serious 
for all northern planters, for seed from the Connecticut 
beds had for years supported not only the planted areas 
of the state, but also very largely those of Massachusetts, 
Rhode Island, New York, and New Jersey. In the 
waters of these states, three years, on an average, are 
required for the maturing of seed oysters. Those planted 
during " the year of the great set " were now marketed, 
and a long delay in the future was inevitable. 

Again no changes in natural conditions were noticed, 
but the season of 1904 brought a harvest of young 
oysters that was nearly equal in volume to that of 1899. 
This time dealers in seed received large returns for their 
labor. Planters everywhere, not yet discouraged, bought 
every bushel that could be produced, and the price of seed 
rose to an unprecedentedly high level. More than a dol- 
lar a bushel was often paid, and the average price for the 
entire season was nearly seventy-three cents. Planters 
were compelled to wait long for returns, but the industry 



io8 Our Food Mollusks 

was safe once more. The set of 1905 was small and 
much scattered, as was that also of the year following. 
The oysters of the natural beds produced very few young. 
In a few localities the set was good, while neighboring 
beds were barren. 

Such a sequence of events excites the interest of a 
biologist as well as that of an oyster culturist. Though 
oystermen have observed no marked changes in the 
natural surroundings of the oysters that at one time pre- 
vent and at another stimulate reproduction, such changes 
undoubtedly occur. It is possible that a close observer 
who should, for a long period, keep a daily record of 
salinity and temperature, and all other conditions known 
to effect reproduction, would be able to offer a simple and 
satisfactory explanation of irregularities in the appear- 
ance of young oysters ; or he might be able to discover 
some other factor, now unknown, that causes the phenom- 
enon. Whether, after having found the explanation, he 
would be able to suggest a remedy for the present state 
of affairs, is another matter; but at least it is certain that 
the remedy will not be discovered until the cause of the 
trouble is known. 




CHAPTER VII 

REARING OYSTERS FROM THE EGG 

T has been suggested that the set of spat might 
be made certain by an artificial fertihzation of 
the eggs. It is perhaps not to be wondered 
at that this possibiHty has for many years 
proved very alluring, not only to oystermen, but also to 
some biologists who have been interested in the life- 
histories of bivalves, because of its novelty, and because it 
would give so great control over natural processes. 
Nearly every one who has written about oysters within 
the last quarter of a century, has referred. to this proposed 
method, and many have become enthusiastic over its pos- 
sibilities. 

If a score of millions of young oysters may be brought 
into being in a tumbler of water — as they may with the 
greatest ease — and if these, or any considerable number 
of them, may be caused to attach and be reared to matur- 
ity, one of the greatest obstacles to oyster culture will be 
overcome. Truly, it is a fascinating suggestion, but to 
the present time it has become nothing more. Because it 
has attracted so much attention, because it still is prac- 
tically an unsolved problem for the American oysterman, 
and because it really is not so necessary to the industry 
as it has been assumed to be. a few rather unusual com- 
ments on it may not be out of place. 

109 



no Our Food Mollusks 

Previous to the year 1879, the anatomy of the Amer- 
ican oyster had heen studied very httle, and nothing was 
known of its breeding habits or development. A few 
European biologists had found that the oyster of their 
northern coast was hermaphroditic, that the eggs were 
fertilized and developed within the body of the parent, 
and that they were retained there for some time. It was 
supposed that the American oyster was structurally and 
functionally very much like its European relative. 

In the year mentioned, the late Professor Brooks of 
the Johns Hopkins University, made some observations on 
our form that have become classic, and in their publica- 
tion showed, among many other things, that the Amer- 
ican oyster is unisexual, and that the eggs are fertilized 
and develop outside the body of the female. He also dis- 
covered that it was possible, at will, to bring about the 
union of the sexual cells in a dish of water, and to ob- 
serve the process of segmentation and the formation of 
organs. He was not able, however, to devise means of 
keeping the swimming embryos alive until they had be- 
come attached. 

In performing the experiment. Professor Brooks 
simply opened the ovaries of a mature female with a 
scalpel and pressed the almost microscopic eggs into a 
dish of water. From a mature male he obtained a few 
drops of the spermatic fluid in the same way, and mixed 
them with the ova, the great majority of which became 
united with male cells. 

Attention was at once attracted by this experiment. 
In the light of what had been accomplished in fish culture 
by means of artificial impregnation, possibilities seemed 
great in this case. Others took it up with enthusiasm. 
Before very long what purported to be an improvement 



Rearing Oysters from the Egg in 

on the original process was published. This designated 
the original method as " barbarous," because crude, and 
singularly enough, it attracted much attention from those 
interested in oyster culture, though in reality it meant 
nothing. 

It was merely a detailed description of a method of 
procedure by which, one might be able to press mature 
eggs from the ovaries or the spermatic fluid from the 
testes of oysters without actually rupturing the sides of 
their bodies, after the manner of stripping the sexual cells 
from the bodies of fishes. But even if artificial fertiliza- 
tion had possessed some practical value, this added 
nothing whatever to the method employed by Professor 
Brooks, for unlike the fish that may not be injured in the 
stripping process, the oyster to be treated must first be 
opened by severing the adductor muscle and tearing off 
one valve of the shell, and not so many eggs can be ob- 
tained. This publication mentioned some anatomical 
facts and referred to implements that might be employed. 
It dealt simply with artificial fertilization, and proposed 
no method for the care of the embryo. Its author almost 
certainly did not regard it as a real contribution to oyster 
culture — indeed, he stated his opinion that the artificial 
fertilization of oyster eggs would probably never be prac- 
tically important. Without doubt, if he had had any idea 
of the immense amount of attention that it was destined 
subsequently to attract, of the mistaken interpretation it 
was to receive, and of the false hopes that it was to 
waken, he would not have published it. But matters of 
that sort never can be foreseen, and it was launched on 
a very remarkable career. 

Shortly afterward there appeared in a publication also 
designed to encourage the oyster industry a further de- 



112 Our Food Mollusks 

velopment of the operation, by another writer. It was as 
impracticable as the one just mentioned, and perhaps even 
more compHcated. After long-continued and patient ex- 
periment, this investigator had met only with discour- 
agement in his attempts to carry the swimming embryos 
to the period of attachment, and apparently not being op- 
timistic concerning the possibilities of artificial fertiliza- 
tion, he also stated that he formulated this method only 
for those who would persist in the attempt to make some- 
thing of it. He reached one conclusion that was sound 
when he stated that " it will at any rate do no harm to 
liberate a few millions of embryos [obtained] in this 
manner over a bed." 

It is strange that some person living on the shore has 
not appeared, during the last quarter of a century, with 
curiosity enough to crush a few oysters with a stone, 
and shake them in a bucket of water in imitation of the 
above mentioned experiments. If he had done so, the 
chances are that he would have succeeded as well in ob- 
taining swimming embryos, and gotten nearly as far 
toward a solution of the practical problem of rearing them 
as any one has to the present. 

The unfortunate thing concerning these publications is 
that they have been read and copied and read again by 
the really intelligent element among oystermen and others 
who were interested, until the popular mind from New 
England to Texas seems perfectly possessed with the 
idea that the culture of oysters — and clams, also — from 
artificially fertilized eggs may, with a little more experi- 
ment, become a great achievement of science that will 
give wonderful practical results. After twenty-five years, 
shell-fish commission reports still refer to it hopefully. 
The cornmissioner of one great oyster state, for example, 



Rearing Oysters from the Egg 113 

writes in his report for 1906, of these early and 
abandoned efforts to obtain practical results from artifi- 
cial fertilization as if they were recent, and concludes 
with the statement that '* Meanwhile those engaged in 
the industry are watching these experiments with the 
greatest interest and hopefulness." If those engaged in 
biological work are sometimes regarded as impractical, 
it was not so in this case. 

It is true that some advance has been made beyond the 
mere production of the swimming young. In 1881, 
Lieutenant Winslow, U. S. N., published the statement 
that he had found it possible to bring about the fertiliza- 
tion of the eggs of the Portuguese oyster, in which as in 
our own, the sexes are separate. A year later M. Bou- 
chon-Brandeley, a Frenchman, who seems not to have 
known of Winslow's statement, showed that he had been 
able not only to cause the fertilization of the eggs of the 
Portuguese oyster, but also to catch the young on col- 
lectors. 

This was a great achievement, but it depended on a 
condition that would make it impracticable in American 
oyster culture. M. Bouchon-Brandeley had at his dis- 
posal a very large fish pond excavated in a marsh. The 
water in this had a depth that varied from three to six 
feet. Several times a week, for a period of two months, 
artificially fertilized oyster eggs were placed in it, and a 
set was obtained on the collectors. He proved, too, that 
the attached young were really those that had been lib- 
erated, and not those borne into the reservoir from out- 
side waters. Since that time a few repetitions of the ex- 
periment in large French claires, seem also to have been 
successful. 

This French experiment excited much interest in this 



114 C)ur Food Mollusks 

country, and many attempts were made to repeat it here. 
The first of these was made in 1883 by Professor John 
A. Ryder, in a small pond on the shore of the Chesapeake. 
The excavation was a little more than twenty feet square, 
and about three and a half feet deep. Water from the 
bay was led into it by a ditch. In order to exclude young 
swimming oysters from the entering water, it was caused 
to flow through a sand diaphragm constructed in the 
ditch. After stakes, suspending shell collectors, had been 
placed in the bottom, artificially fertilized oyster eggs 
were poured into the pond from time to time. About 
seven weeks after the beginning of the experiment, the 
collectors were found to bear young oysters varying 
from a fourth to three- fourths of an inch in diameter; 
but the set appears to have been so meager as to have 
offered no encouragement to oyster culture. In sum- 
marizing his results. Professor Ryder concluded, " The 
writer does not think that the rearing of oysters from 
artificially impregnated eggs will ever be a profitable 
business." 

Similar results were obtained from ponds constructed 
on the shores of Long Island Sound and elsewhere, but 
none were really successful, and some were entire failures. 
The accounts of most of the experiments are too vague 
and imperfect to be valuable. For example, a " good 
set " was obtained in a Long Island pond two hundred 
and eighty feet long and one hundred feet wide, and con- 
taining from two to six feet of water. But we do not 
know the observer's idea of a good set. From the ac- 
count one must assume that water was led directly into 
the pond from the harbor near at hand, and that no at- 
tempt was made to exclude swimming oysters from it. 
Some years later that Jiarbor was literally paved with 



Rearing Oysters from the Egg 115 

growing oysters from which such young might have been 
derived, and perhaps was at that time also. 

All attempts to keep young oysters alive in tanks or 
aquaria until the time of attachment, have proved to be 
failures, though it is claimed in one case, that a few 
spat became attached in a tank containing somewhat more 
than two hundred cubic feet of water. 

Laboratory experiments have been made, in which 
water was caused to flow steadily and rapidly through a 
series of aquaria. Filters of sand and other substances 
were provided to prevent the escape of the young oysters ; 
but although the water was rapidly renewed, and the tem- 
perature kept constant, they perished, many of them be- 
coming entangled in the filter. 

Thus it seems probable, from observations already 
made, that the chances are much against the future dis- 
covery of facts that may make it practicable in America 
to rear oysters from artificially fertilized eggs. It has 
been shown that the young of our oyster will become at- 
tached in large and deep ponds so constructed as to pre- 
vent the deposition of mud on the collectors, but most of 
those who have conducted the experiments admit that 
they do not solve the commercial problem involved. 

The matter might appear in a different light if it had 
been shown that the set in the reservoirs was much 
greater than in open water. It would be interesting to 
know, also, if a set could be obtained in a pond from 
artificially fertilized eggs in one of those occasional 
seasons in which it more or less completely fails on 
outside oyster beds. But even if these were demon- 
strated facts, they probably would be of little commercial 
value. 

Usually the natural set is sufficient. If it fails in one 



ii6 Our Food Mollusks 

locality, a neighboring shore most often produces enough 
seed to meet the demand. When widespread failure 
continues for three or four years, an abundant supply of 
seed certainly could be obtained from other parts of the 
coast. Failure is most common in the North, but the 
New England planters might obtain seed in an emergency 
from the Chesapeake, the Carolina sounds, or even from 
the Gulf, where the set is practically always good. The 
present difficulty in this is simply that seed is not yet 
gathered for sale in large amount on these sections of the 
coast. All coasts do not fail at the same time. During 
the lean years in Long Island Sound following the large 
set of 1899, seed oysters were very numerous along the 
shores of Pamlico Sound and elsewhere, and were left un- 
touched. 

When the oyster industry shall have become as greatly 
developed in other sections as it now is in the North, 
and when everywhere the gathering of seed shall have 
become an extensive business, there will be no possibil- 
ity, with present means of transportation, of suffering in 
any section from the lack of it. The seed problem, when- 
ever it arises, will, in the future, be solved in this man- 
ner. Natural oyster seed is, and probably always will be, 
sufficiently abundant to supply all demands. It is only 
necessary to gather it from natural beds or on collectors 
and distribute it cheaply, and without doubt this can and 
will be done. 

There have been many ardent expressions of the hope 
that the time might soon arrive when long neck and little 
neck clams shall be reared for market from artificially 
fertilized eggs. It would be well if that hope might now 
be completely destroyed. With these forms such a prac- 
tice is an impossibility. The culture of clams by any 



Rearing Oysters from the Egg 117 

method has not yet been seriously attempted, though sim- 
ple and successful methods have been tried and proved ex- 
perimentally. When these are put into practice on a 
large scale, there will be seed clams for planting, and 
without lack, but they will not have been reared from arti- 
ficially fertilized eggs. 




CHAPTER VIII 

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA 

MORE or less arbitrary distinction has been 
made between oyster planting and oyster cul- 
ture, the latter being defined as a method by 
means of which the number of oysters are in- 
creased by artificial means above that produced under 
natural conditions alone. Except in Long Island Sound 
and in the region about the mouth of the Hudson, true 
oyster culture is still rarely practised in this country. In 
Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and the Gulf states, 
the universal opinion appears to be that while natural 
beds continue to exist, seed should be obtained from them. 
All these states possess extensive natural beds. In most 
cases oysters are still taken from them directly to mar- 
ket, and where planting is practised, they furnish the 
seed. The idea seems to prevail, also, that the New 
England and New York oystermen are driven to the 
use of collectors because their natural beds are so nearly 
destroyed. 

It should not escape attention in the southern states 
tijat there are some important advantages in the method 
of gathering spat upon artificial collectors. The first of 
these is that the number of oysters is increased. Such an 
increase may not seem necessary at present in most places, 
and the fear, sometimes expressed, that it would glut the 

ii8 



Oyster Culture in America 119 

market, is certainly without foundation; for it would 
come gradually, and the market might easily be made 
much more extensive than it now is. Nothing but good 
could come to the industry from its gradual extension and 
improvement. Again, seed gathered on collectors, while 
somewhat more expensive, is in every way superior to 
seed from natural beds. It is of uniform size. When 
planted, it all comes to maturity at nearly the same time. 
Young oysters so gathered are best able to withstand 
changes in environment encountered when the transfer is 
made to planting grounds in different localities. The in- 
crease in volume, also, is much more rapid and relatively 
much greater when the small seed from collectors is used. 

On the other hand, oysters taken from natural beds 
for planting, are of all sizes and ages. To put the seed 
into good condition for planting, it should be separated 
from oysters of larger growth. To grade oysters taken 
from a natural bed according to size, requires much labor. 
Usually all are planted together. The young must grow 
with the old, which are often weakened by the changed 
conditions, and grow slowly. Many of these old oysters 
are ill-shaped, and can be very little improved. 

More important still, the development of a branch of 
oyster culture for the collection of seed, would give 
stability to the whole industry. If the natural set should 
fail at one point, seed might be obtained at another, and 
probably not distant locality, where it had been collected 
for sale. Under such conditions there would be no lean 
seasons in the oyster territory. 

Before the beginnings of oyster culture were made in 
Europe, the method of culture employed to-day had been 
established in our own country. From the fact that the 
young become attached to any clean, hard, foreign body 



I20 Our Food Mollusks 

accidentally present in the water (Figures 25 to 28), the 
practice arose of purposely throwing objects on the bot- 
tom to capture them. Naturally, old oyster shells ac- 
cumulated on the shore suggested themselves as collectors, 
and from that day to this, they have been the most gen- 
erally used of collectors in America. 

Shells are cheap, and are to be had near oyster grounds. 
Firm bottoms are usually selected for spat collecting, but 
the young are sometimes secured on soft ground. This 
is possible because the shells settle with their concave or 
inner surfaces uppermost. The edges of the shells are 
thus held above the mud, and even when the deadly silt is 
sufficient to kill those attached to the upper faces, others 
continue to exist on the under side of their margins. 

The great disadvantage in using the oyster shell for a 
collector is that it is so large that a great many young 
may attach to it, and so tough that it cannot be broken to 
separate them. A large cluster may thus arise on a single 
shell, the individuals of which, from crowding, die or be- 
come elongated; and it is only after they have attained a 
considerable size that the cluster can be broken apart 
without great loss. But, on the whole, the oyster shell 
has proved to be the best of available collectors on the At- 
lantic coast. 

There are some shells that are superior to it in many 
respects. Such are the thin, brittle shells of the scallop, 
the mussel, and the small " jingle shells " found on some 
beaches. If these are used where currents are not strong 
enough to bear them away, oysters that grow on them 
will break them into bits as soon as pressure is developed 
from crowding. In quiet waters these shells are ideal 
collectors because of this fact that the clusters formed 
on them will separate automatically without handling ; but 





Fig. 25. 



Fic. 26. 




Fig. 




Fig. 2^ 



Figs. 25-27. O'ojects to which small oysters have attached. 

From N. Y. Forest. Fish and Game Commission. 
Fig. 28. An iron mast hoop from Chesapeake Bay covered by 

thousands of oysters of various sizes. From Va. State Board 

of Fisheries. 



Oyster Culture in America 121 

very unfortunately they are not to be had in large quan- 
tities. 

Large parts of the Gulf oyster field possess an ad- 
vantage over the Atlantic coast that some day may prove 
to be very important, in its immense deposits of small 
shells. These could hardly be improved on for the pur- 
pose of collecting oyster spat. They are hard, but so 
small that clustering on them would be impossible. At 
the same time, they are heavy enough to remain unmoved 
in a strong current. These will be described in another 
place. 

In certain parts of Long Island Sound, water-worn 
pebbles or fragments of crushed rock are employed as 
collectors, or " cultch." Though this material is some- 
what more expensive than shells, its pieces are so small 
that oysters cannot cluster on them. It cannot, how- 
ever, be used on soft bottoms, unless enough of it is em- 
ployed to act both as pavement and cultch. On hard 
bottoms, from five to six hundred bushels are spread 
over an acre — somewhat more than when shells are 
used. 

Rarely spat is collected over very soft bottoms where 
the water is shallow. This is accomplished by driving, 
the bases of saplings into the mud, leaving their branches 
immersed. Now and then a heavy set is gathered on 
them. If oysters are allowed to grow where they have 
attached, they are likely to fall into the mud because of 
the decay and softening of the bark. For this reason, 
the brush is usually removed soon after attachment is 
accomplished. 

It is possible to use many other kinds of material for 
cultch. Scraps of tin and tin cans, for example, serve 
the purpose well when they are available, and very sue- 



122 Our Food Mollusks 

cessful results have been obtained from them. Though 
a great many young may attach to a can, the corrosive 
action of the sah water soon reduces it to fragments, 
thus freeing the oysters before they have begun to crowd 
each other and eventually the cultch is entirely de- 
stroyed. 

It would be possible to manufacture saucer-shaped col- 
lectors of thin sheet-steel, gypsum, cement, tar, or as- 
phaltum, that would be successful where currents were 
not rapid — the targets or " clay pigeons " used by trap- 
shooters would be ideal for the purpose — but the cost, in 
any case would be prohibitive, and it is not likely 
that any form of cultch will be discovered or invented 
that will take the place of the shell collector in our 
waters. 

One of the things learned early in the practice of 
oyster culture was that collectors may be placed on the 
bottoms onJy after the breeding season has arrived. 
Usually it will not do to plant the shells at any conven- 
ient season during the year to await the appearance of 
swimming embryos. The reason for this is that they 
soon become covered by a slime upon which the young 
oysters are unable to attach. The material which thus 
coats all exposed parts of the shells is composed of ma- 
rine algae, diatoms, hydroids, or sponges. These organ- 
isms are apparently able at all seasons to establish them- 
selves, and their growth is rapid. It is therefore neces- 
sary to have the collectors ready on shore, and to spread 
them on the collecting grounds after the oysters have 
begun to spawn. Spat then attaches before the slime 
coat has formed. 

If, during July, August, or September, the spat has 
failed to attach on the collectors, it may be necessary to 



Oyster Culture in America 123 

dredge all the cultch and expose it to the air so that the 
slime organisms may decay, dry, and flake ofif the shells 
before they are again planted. 

Most of the slime organisms, however, inhabit rela- 
tively salt water only, and collections placed in brackish 
water may for a long tijiie remain free from this orgariic 
coating. It thus happens that young oysters become at- 
tached to the shells of others that may have been grow- 
ing in brackish water for some time. This explains why 
the clustering of oysters is more rapid where the water 
is relatively fresh, in or near the mouths of streams, 
than in deeper and salter water. 

When a farmer has plowed his field and planted his 
corn, he must still expend much labor on the growing 
plants if he expects to harvest a good crop. Thistles, 
ragweed, cockles, and other weeds spring up with the 
corn, and if they are not plowed under and kept down 
until the corn is high enough to shade them, much of the 
crop becomes stunted or perishes. If planted too thickly, 
the struggle among the corn plants would bring the same 
results. 

So it is in rearing oysters. Only labor insures a good 
crop. This should seem reasonable, for one's experiences 
teach him that he seldom receives benefits without work- 
ing for them. By analogy, he should hardly expect an 
exception in this case, but the fact is that a great many 
who have undertaken the cultivation of oysters seem to 
have had this very expectation. Analogy is usually a 
poor form of argument, but it is safe in this case. 

In ignorance of the methods of the thrifty Connecti- 
cut oyster grower, many a prospective culturist on other 
coasts has taken a few boat-loads of " coon " oyster 
clusters from a natural reef, dumped them on a barren 



124 ^^r Food Mollusks 

bottom, and left them to work a miracle for him. He 
has then been ready to declare that oyster culture is a 
delusion. Talk of that sort is not uncommon to-day in 
some quarters, but at many points on our long shore line, 
that type of oysterman is learning his lesson from his 
more intelligent and more thrifty neighbors. Success in 
oyster culture requires work. 

There is one extreme variation in this work that de- 
pends partly on the condition of the industry. The na- 
ture of the labor required when one collects and sells seed 
and another plants, is different from that required of 
one who must depend entirely on his own efforts. Sta- 
bility arises from cooperation, but the isolated oyster 
farmer is apt to suffer many hardships. But the great- 
est variation in the work necessary for success in oyster 
culture arises from differences in local natural conditions. 
It has been proved by several failures that it is impos- 
sible to follow successfully in Pamlico Sound precisely 
the same methods that have succeeded in Connecticut. 
Oyster culture in Jamaica Bay is not exactly like that 
at New Haven. In Long Island Sound the work on deep 
beds is not like that near the shore. Culture is, of course, 
everywhere the same in its main features, but the neces- 
sary details, that are essential, vary with the locality, 
and must be discovered by experiment. This fact should 
be kept in mind, especially on the Gulf coast, when the 
time comes for introducing all phases of oyster culture 
there. The chief thing necessary everywhere to assure 
success is painstaking labor. 

An examination of the labors of the Long Island 
Sound oystermen, who have carried oyster culture to 
the highest point of perfection in this country, shows 
them to be extensive. After the preliminary work of 



Oyster Culture in America 125 

preparing the bottom for planting, which has already 
been mentioned, the seed demands attention. If a 
planter has obtained his seed from a natural oyster bed, 
it will be more or less clustered, and these masses are 
made up largely of decaying shells, of hydroids, sponges, 
and other organisms. The clusters are culled, the living 
oysters, of many sizes, being gathered together, and the 
debris is thrown away. 

When shells, or some other form of cultch, have been 
used for collecting the young, they are sometimes left 
without being disturbed until some of the oysters have 
grown to marketable size. In such a case the oysters, 
when dredged, are culled, the smaller ones being re- 
turned to the water to complete their growth. 

Usually, however, the young are all removed soon 
after attachment and placed on other bottoms where ex- 
perience has shown growth to be more rapid. The cul- 
turist sometimes plants them closely, for small oysters 
require a relatively small amount of food : but they must 
soon be removed and spread over a greater territory. 
The process of dredging and replanting is often re- 
peated two or three times. 

Those who carry on the most extensive business, own 
tracts in various localities. If they have obtained a set 
of the young near shore, these may be removed to deep- 
water beds several miles out in the sound. If a culturist 
owns no bottom on which a natural set is likely to occur, 
he sometimes spreads his cultch, and on it places " breed- 
ers " — mature oysters about to discharge the sexual cells. 
This is — or should be — done with due regard to the 
salinity and temperature of the water, and some time be- 
fore the breeding season normally begins, in order that 
the oysters may become accustomed to their new sur- 



126 Our Food Mollusks 

roundings. From tweTity-five to fifty bushels of these 
are usually placed on an acre. 

Seed oysters having been spread on beds where they 
may complete their growth, sometimes recjuire little at- 
tention; but usually their safety depends on constant 
vigilance and care. Much also depends upon the locality. 
In the year 1882 several of the Connecticut oystermen 
prepared beds in deep, salt water far from the shore. 
When oysters planted on these began to be removed, it 
was found that great numbers of starfish were present, 
and in succeeding years they became more and more 
numerous. This was the beginning of an affliction that 
has continued to the present time. Starfish are terribly 
destructive to oysters, the soft parts of which they con- 
sume, and no really effective means of destroying them 
has been devised. Other enemies, to be referred to later, 
also demand the oysterman's attention, especially in salt 
waters. 

There is also work to be done on the brackish water 
beds. Much of this arises from the spawning of the 
oysters themselves, which are more prolific in such 
waters. An oysterman plants young that must grow 
three or four years before being marketed. During the 
following July a great many embryos may appear. The 
shells of the planted oysters may be ({uite free from 
slime, as often happens in brackish water. The spat 
collects on them and begins to grow. In another year or 
two the beds are covered with clustered oysters which, if 
allowed to remain longer, ten.d to destroy each other. 
Survivors will be stunted, ill-shaped, and poor. The en- 
tire contents of clustered beds must be dredged and culled, 
and a part of it removed to other bottoms. 

In the care of planted oysters there are still other con- 



Oyster Culture in America 127 

ditions that often call for labor. Two or three varieties 
of sea-weeds frequently appear on the bottoms, often 
attached to the oysters themselves. In a current, these 
are matted down so as to interfere with the feeding pro- 
cess, and if allowed to grow, may become a serious 
menace. Strong currents frequently drag rubbish of 
various kinds on to the beds, and waves from heavy 
winds may cause the bottoms to shift. Oysters in this 
way are frequently " sanded," but even if completely 
covered, they would continue to live for some days, so 
they may be saved if cared for in time. All of these 
conditions the successful culturist must heed. There 
is nothing to be done but to dredge the entire crop, scrap- 
ing the bottom clean. Then sea-weed and rubbish are 
removed, and the oysters are returned. 

For still another reason it is often of advantage to 
disturb the oysters. There are bottoms on which they 
increase in size, but fail to fatten. Indeed, on most of 
the deep water beds, oysters do not attain so favorable 
a condition as in fresher water. In order to improve 
them as much as possible before marketing them, many 
culturists remove their oysters in the spring from the 
less favorable deep water to warmer and fresher shore 
beds, where fattening rapidly takes place during the 
summer. Such oysters are callel '' harbor plants," and 
though now often in a more favorable position for strain- 
ing the bacillus of typhoid out of the water, they are 
plump, and are sold for a higher price than that obtained 
for the " sound stock." 

Perhaps it has appeared from these statements that 
the oyster-culturist's year is not made up of days of idle 
waiting for his crop to mature. He has his " slack sea- 
son," to be sure. In some years starfish may give him 



128 Our Food Mollusks 

little trouble. The set of spat may be so abundant as 
to make planting operations easy and certain of success. 
But there are always strenuous weeks of harvesting; rub- 
bish and sea-weed may collect on the crop, or a hurri- 
cane may descend upon it at any time; and he, like the 
farmer, must be observant and always prepared to battle 
against enemies and the weather if he expects to be 
successful. Rewards are often large, but are only to 
be had as the result of much labor. 

It will be interesting to compare the labors of the 
oyster and clam culturists — when the latter come into 
being. The returns to the clam culturist undoubtedly 
will be large, and the labor that he will be compelled to 
put on his fields will be trifling as compared with that of 
the oysterman. 




CHAPTER IX 

IMPLEMENTS AND THEIR USES— BOATS— 

THE PREPARATION OF OYSTERS 

FOR MARKET 

[HE expense to the oyster culturist of provid- 
ing himself with apphances for carrying on 
his trade is shght as compared with that in 
many other fields of labor. He must have 
boats, large or small as the magnitude of his undertaking 
demands. But besides these, there is little else that he 
must purchase if he does not himself attempt to market 
his crop. Oysters are removed from the bottom by 
means of tongs and dredges, the former being used in 
shallow and the latter in deep water. 

Tongs are of the same general pattern everywhere on 
the coast. As shown in Figure 48, tw© long wooden 
shafts or handles are crossed like scissors blades and 
held together with a " pin," or " pivot." The lower 
end of each shaft bears an iron head fashioned like a 
garden rake. Just above this is a basket-like arrange- 
ment of small iron rods that prevents oysters from falling 
when the two rakes are brought together. 

Tonging is done from boats the length of which 
seldom exceeds twenty-five feet. These are usually fitted 
with a plank on either side level with the gunwale and 
extending from stem to stern. On this the tonger stands 
and lowers the head of the tongs to the bottom (Figures 

129 



130 Our Food Mollusks 

29 and 30). With his hands on the shafts three or four 
feet above the water, he opens them, then pressing down- 
ward on the bottom, brings them together again. This 
operation is repeated several times until the weight in- 
dicates that the rakes have gathered a full load of shells. 
The tongs are lifted and the load is allowed to fall on 
the culling board placed across the boat back of its 
middle. 

The sizes of tongs vary with the depth of water in 
which they are used. The shortest have a length of 
about twelve feet. It is obvious that a heavier load may 
be lifted from shallow than from deep bottoms; so in 
order to make the area of the " grab " sufficiently large 
the heads of the short tongs are usually about thirty 
inches wide. 

To the inexperienced, ten or fifteen feet might seem to 
be the greatest depth at which oysters could be taken by 
this means, but as a matter of fact, they can be tonged in 
thirty feet of water. As a rule, however, tongs are sel- 
dom used in water more than twenty-five feet in depth, 
and the greater number are taken at a depth of less than 
fifteen feet. 

Tongs are obviously the implements of the poorer 
oystermen, who have not the means to purchase large 
boats from which dredges may be used. But they are 
also frequently used in oyster culture by those whose 
operations are extensive; for oysters are often planted 
in water too shallow to float dredging boats. On the 
shallow natural beds of Chesapeake Bay, Pamlico Sound, 
and the Gulf of Mexico, a great many men make a living 
by the use of oyster tongs. The figures will give an idea 
of their occupation. 

When oysters are greatly scattered in shallow water, 




Fig. 29. A fleet of gasoline tonging boats in Hampton Roads, 
Va. From State Board of Fisheries, Va. 



4 


- '.■::^!^^~^'^'-' 


jM 


is 


fr 



Fig. 30. Tongers and cullers at work on Pamlico Sound, 
N. C. From the U. S. F. C. Report. 



Implements and Their Uses 131 

they are sometimes secured one at a time hy hght tongs 
having very narrow heads. These are called " nippers," 
and can only be used w^here the water is clear and very 
quiet. 

A modification of the principle of the tongs is em- 
ployed for use in deep water. There are many deep beds 
in the Chesapeake and its larger tributaries that are in- 
accessible even to dredges. Such beds may easily be 
reached by the so-called patent tongs, invented by a 
Maryland oysterman in 1887. Every one is familiar 
with the mechanical principle involved in a pair of 
ice-tongs. The iceman lifts on the handles to secure a 
grip on the load to be lifted, and the heavier the piece 
of ice, the tighter this grip becomes. Imagine that rake- 
heads, with teeth pointed inward, are fastened to the 
ends of such a pair of tongs where the calks or spurs are 
placed, and one has all but a few details of the patent 
oyster tongs. A rope is tied to each handle, and these 
are fastened to a single rope a few feet above. Before 
being lowered into the water, the tongs are locked open 
by a simple device. This lock is disengaged when the 
weight of the tongs rests on the bottom, and a pull on the 
rope causes the rakes to come together. The heavier 
the load, the tighter it is grasped. In order to scrape 
the bottom with force, weights are attached, or the tongs 
themselves are made of heavy material. This necessi- 
tates the employment of a windlass. The area of the 
bottom scraped, or the extent of the " grab " of the tongs 
now manufactured is one square yard, and the imple- 
ment has proved to be very useful where oysters are 
numerous. 

The dredge is much the most important implement 
used in American oyster culture. It does its work so 



132 Our Food Mollusks 

thoroughly and so rapidly that it sustains a never-end- 
ing chorus of protest against its employment all along 
the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Naturally, this is largely 
from the tongers engaged in the laborious task of com- 
peting with it on what seem to be very unequal terms. 
But the dredge is also sometimes condemned by much 
more influential and generally well-meaning persons, 
who see in it a menace to the industry, at least where it 
depends on natural beds. State legislatures have lis- 
tened with attention, and the influence on them of this 
cry against the dredge is still recorded in the oyster laws 
of almost every coast state. 

Many now living may remember the profound dis- 
turbance in the minds of some, caused by the introduc- 
tion of such labor-saving devices as the combined reaper 
and binder for harvesting grain. They seemed inevita- 
bly to involve the end for the farm laborer. To persons 
who formerly held this view of the matter, the frantic 
appeals for help that each year come out of Kansas when 
the grain harvest approaches, must have a strange sound. 

The oyster dredge bears much the same relation to 
tongs that the reaper does to the old-fashioned cradle. 
The reaper gathers the crop, but the cradle is still useful 
on small areas, and on the edges of large fields. Oyster 
culture can never be what it should be without the unre- 
stricted use of the dredge. If the industry is to depend 
on natural beds, it may be well to restrict its use, but 
there is no part of the coast where these conditions 
should be allowed to exist. On the northern coast, where 
states have been so educated in the matter as to have 
perceived the wisdom of leasing — or better still, of sell- 
ing — oyster bottoms to culturists, there has been granted 
with the property right, the equally sensible right to 



Implements and Their Uses 133 

work upon the property without greater restrictions than 
are placed on the farmer who is allowed to cut his grain 
with a reaper. This seems like common sense and com- 
mon justice, but there are still those who are strongly 
prejudiced against the use of the dredge. 

But the old conditions are fast passing. There was 
too often just cause for complaint against the use of the 
dredge when state laws set apart some natural beds for 
the use of tongers only, and others for dredgers. But 
now that any citizen, in most states, may lease or buy 
bottoms in deep or shallow water, to wdiich he confines 
his operations, and in which he is supposed to have the 
protection of the state, he should be allowed to handle 
his own crop as he chooses, so long as he injures the 
property of no one else by so doing. 

The implement is very simple in construction. In the 
foreground of Figure 31, a dredge is shown lying on the 
deck of a North Carolina dredging boat. It consists of 
a rectangular iron frame from the corners of which 
rods lead forward and join at a distance of about three 
feet from the frame. The towing rope is attached at this 
point. Fastened all around the frame is a sack con- 
structed of iron rings which is dragged behind it. The 
lower side of the frame that rests on the bottom, is 
sometimes provided with teeth that turn the oysters up- 
ward into the sack. 

The size of the dredge varies greatly. The one just 
referred to is about three feet wide, and probably weighs 
about thirty pounds. This is near the minimum size. In 
Chesapeake Bay such dredges are employed on boats 
having a capacity of from three to four hundred bushels. 
On larger boats dredges more than five feet wide are 
used. These weigh about one hundred pounds and will 



134 Our Food Mollusks 

hold five bushels or more. The average capacity of 
dredges used on steam vessels by Connecticut oystermen 
on private grounds, is ten or twelve bushels, but some 
are of immense size, and capable of gathering thirty 
bushels at a haul. 

Almost everywhere at present, except in Long Island 
Sound, sailboats are used for towing the dredge. There, 
the more powerful and more reliable steam power bar 
come into general use, and it probably will not be lorn, 
before the example of the northern planter will be fol 
lowed elsewhere, though the cheaper, if more primitive , 
sail power may never be entirely abandoned. 

Two masted, schooner-rigged vessels, such as is shown 
in the illustration, have long been employed in Chesa- 
peake Bay, in Pamlico Sound, and elsewhere. These 
carry two dredges that are hauled by hand winches or 
windlasses bolted to the deck back of the foremast. Op- 
posite each windlass, three or four feet of the rail are 
removed, and level with the deck there is placed a bar 
or, more commonly, a roller, over which the dredge rope 
plays. When the oyster beds are reached, dredges are 
thrown over and dragged until it is supposed that they 
.have been filled. 

Each windlass has two long handles and is operated 
by four men. The dredge, with its load, is hauled upon 
the deck and emptied. From natural beds a great 
amount of waste material is brought up with the oysters. 
When dredging is done in the daytime, the dredge load 
is at once culled, the oysters being stowed below the deck, 
and the waste thrown overboard. At night, culling is 
dispensed with until daylight. 

When the bed has been crossed, the boat tacks, haul- 
ing the dredges across once more. In this way the work 




Fig. 31. A North Carolina 
dredge and hand-windlass. 
U. S. F. C. Report. 



dredging schooner, showing 
From Dr. Caswell Grave in 




Fig. ^2. Drawing a more modern dredge by steam power on 
the New York oyster grounds. From a Report of the N. Y. 
Forest, Fish and Game Commission. 



Implements and Their Uses 135 

in the Chesapeake is continued day after day until a 
load has been secured. This usually means two or three 
weeks of dredging. The boat then puts in to market. 

While the dredges used. by the oystermen of Long 
Island Sound are of usual pattern, their operation has 
been greatly perfected. On many of the modern steam 
\essels as many as four of them arc handled simultane- 
ously, and the winches, instead of being operated labor- 
iously by hand, are controlled by steam power. By this 
means dredges are drawn in very rapidy. They are usu- 
ally much larger than those drawn by hand, and the 
number of the boat's crew is greatly decreased. 

Reference has been made to the tonging boat, which 
is of much the same pattern everywhere. Every one is 
familiar with the common schooner and sloop rigs. 
These are found on the oyster grounds from New Eng- 
land to Texas. The hulls of these boats of course vary 
in size, in depth of keel, and the use of center-board, con- 
forming to the nature of the oyster region. A brief 
reference to an unusual and specialized form may not 
be out of place. 

At the present time in Louisiana, many schooners and 
sloops are employed by oystermen, and under the intel- 
ligent and progressive management now in force, the 
more modern power boat is being added to the oyster 
fleet. But not long ago the oyster boats were all of a 
class seldom seen on our coasts, which, from its Medi- 
terranean rig, was known as the " lugger." A few of 
these boats may still be seen on the oyster grounds. 

The lugger, varying from sixteen to forty feet in 
length, is decked over fore and aft, the center being left 
open. There is one long mast carrying a large, nearly 
square sail that is suspended from a long yard. The 



136 Our Food Mollusks 

lower corners of the sail are secured at the bow and 
stern on travelers, so as to work across the deck. There 
is no jib. In sailing close to the wind, yard and sail are 
drawn so as to lie nearly parallel to the keel. It is said 
that these boats are superior even to schooners and sloops 
in beating to windward. Before the wind, yard and sail 
are swung across the boat. They are fast sailers, and 
may be handled quickly; but the long yard is apt to give 
trouble in squalls, and it is said that the danger of cap- 
sizing is great. 

The most highly specialized craft employed in the 
oyster industry, are to be found in Long Island Sound, 
and vessels of a similar sort will doubtless eventually be 
employed over much of the oyster territory. As early 
as 1874, an oyster planter of Norwalk, Conn., put steam 
power into one of his sloops for the purpose of towing 
oyster dredges. The advantages of steam power in this 
work would seem to be obvious. It may be used as an 
auxiliary to sail power, the latter being employed alone 
in weather favorable for it. It may be used on calm 
days, and is at command at all seasons, and in every 
sort of weather. Its power may be made as great as 
desired, and is easily controlled. Steam may be used not 
only for propelling the boat, but also for drawing in 
the dredges. But the expense of installing boilers and 
engines is relatively great, and this, with operating ex- 
penses, may have convinced oystermen at this time that 
steam would not be profitable. At any rate, when Cap- 
tain Decker began to convert his sloop into an oyster 
steamer, he was ridiculed by all the oystermen in the 
region, and the failure of his experiment was predicted 
with the utmost confidence. 

But, contrary to all expectations, its success was im- 




Fic. 33. Steam dredging vessel on Long Island 
From a Report of the R. T. Shell-fish Commission. 




Fk;. ;i4, Mi-ani dredging vessel nwiied at Xew Haven. From 
a Report of the R. I. Shell-hsh Commission. 




Fk;. 35. Xew York steam dredging vessel towing the 
dredges. From a Report of the I-orest, Fish and Game 
Commission. 



Implements and Their Uses 137 

mediate and complete. Captain Decker owned about 
sixty acres of bottom in deep water that he had been un- 
able to use, largely because he could not keep it free 
from starfish. With his new boat, that proved to be able 
to operate large dredges rapidly, he thoroughly cleaned 
his ground, and after oysters were placed on it, was able 
to handle them easily and to keep down the numbers of 
their foes. The result of this first attempt to use steam 
power on an oyster boat in America was a tenfold in- 
crease of the boat's capacity for dredging oysters with- 
out great increase in operating expenses. 

When this fact was realized, as it was immediately, 
a great cry was raised by all the oystermen along the 
shore against the employment of steam in the oyster in- 
dustry. The state legislature became convinced that 
something should be done to reassure these conserva- 
tive petitioners, so it prohibited the use of steam power 
on the natural beds, and that prohibition remains to-day 
in Connecticut. 

But a revolution in American oyster culture had been 
inaugurated, and has resulted in an enormous increase 
in the number of oysters produced, and in the reclama- 
tion of much of the deeper area of Long Island Sound. 
Steamers to be used in oyster culture at once began to 
appear in Connecticut and New York, and have steadily 
increased in number, size, and efficiency ever since. 

The little converted sloop " Early Bird " measured 
but seven tons. In 1880 there were six steam oyster 
vessels in Connecticut, one of them measuring thirty 
tons, net. Five years later the number had increased to 
forty-eight vessels, averaging twenty-seven tons — but 
three tons less than the greatest in 1880. By 1887 there 
were fifty-seven oyster steamers in the Connecticut field, 



138 Our Food Mollusks 

but for some years following, the increase was very slow. 

By this time there were probably as many steam ves- 
sels as the condition of the industry in Connecticut de- 
manded, and they increased in number slowly as it grew. 
Growth has been steady, and each season sees a few 
steamers added to the fleet. In 1903 there were about 
one hundred of them; in 1906 one hundred and fourteen, 
and that rate of increase may be maintained for some 
time. 

The average displacement of the steamers employed 
by the oyster culturists to-day is nearly thirty tons, net. 
Several of them recently built have a displacement of 
more than a hundred and forty tons, or nearly ten times 
the average size. The tendency seems to be toward the 
construction of larger and more powerful vessels. 

It should be stated that there is still much work on 
the oyster field that can be done by schooners, sloops, 
and small boats, and that there has also been a steady 
increase in their number. 

This demonstration of the utility of steam in northern 
waters should be of great value to culturists in those 
fields where steam vessels are not yet in use. So much 
of the success of northern oyster culture has depended on 
the development of these boats that it is of prime im- 
portance that their construction and the nature of their 
work should be studied by, and generally known to, the 
culturists in the Chesapeake, the Carolina sounds, and in 
the Gulf of Mexico. Unfortunately, publications on the 
subject are few and meager. 

The great superiority of steam-driven vessels may be 
indicated by a brief statement of what one of them is 
actually able to accomplish. This vessel is of seventy-three 
tons displacement. It has a length of eighty-three feet, 



Implements and Their Uses 139 

a beam of twenty feet, and a deptli of six feet. It car- 
ries a crew of eight men. Its original cost was sixteen 
thousand dollars, and a hundred dollars a month pur- 
chases fuel, water, and oil. 

The carrying capacity of the vessel is twenty-five hun- 
dred bushels of oysters, and it is able to dredge eighteen 
hundred bushels a day from beds under thirty-five feet 
of water. In order to equal a single day's catch by this 
vessel, it is stated that it would be necessary for the sail- 
ing vessel of average size employed by the oystermen in 
Long Island Sound, carrying a crew of three men, to 
dredge the same bottoms for nearly izvo and a half 
months. 

The fearful tortures to which the crews of many 
dredging vessels in the Chesapeake have in the past been 
subjected by their masters, form an interesting subject 
that will be referred to later. To these cruelties have 
been added the sufferings caused by exposure to winter 
weather. Under the most humane treatment, the lot of 
the crew of a dredger with exposed decks is a hard one. 
In the North especially, where winters are so severe, the 
limit of human endurance is required of the crew of an 
open boat. In contrast, life on a modern steam dredger 
is pleasant. It is housed over so as to afford almost 
complete protection to the crew, no matter what the 
weather may be. The four dredges are hauled by steam 
winches, and powerful propelling engines make frequent 
visits to port a certainty. 

One extremely important advantage possessed by the 
steam dredger that should not be overlooked, is that its 
owner is able at all times during the winter to deliver 
his oysters when he has promised to do so. If he is to 
dredge them from deep water and in the middle of the 



140 ■ Our Food Mollusks 

sound, neither ice nor storm can prevent him. The 
work is done so rapidly that dates may be set for the de- 
livery of large quantities. Market demands may be met 
at once. On the other hand, the market is not glutted, 
as is the case when several sailing vessels, that have been 
weeks in obtaining a cargo, happen to reach port to- 
gether. 

The recent increase in the number of gasoline boats 
everywhere on the coast is one of the most remarkable 
phenomena that the shore has witnessed in many de- 
cades. Naturally, these boats have become very useful 
in the oyster industry. But fuel for the new motors, 
whether gasoline or alcohol, will be too expensive for 
large boats, and steam will have no rival here. 

In many instances, the preliminary work of prepar- 
ing oysters for market, begins when they are dredged. 
In the Chesapeake, for example, where dredging for 
market until the present time has been done only on nat- 
ural beds, state law requires the culling of oysters on tlie 
beds in order that empty shells and young oysters may be 
returned to the bottoms. This culling makes handling 
more easy and rapid for the dealers who receive the 
cargo. In other localities, culling of the material taken 
from private beds may, for various reasons, be done on 
shore. 

Oysters are usually very muddy when taken from the 
bottom, and must be cleaned. On the steam dredgers the 
greater part of the mud is removed before the dredge 
load has reached the deck. The older winches or wind- 
lasses were provided with what is called a positive clutch 
— the same device that is employed on well windlasses 
to prevent them from turning back and lowering the 
bucket. Now what is called a friction clutch is em- 




Fici. 36. A powerful ice-breaking steamer owned at Xew 
Haven. Conn. This vessel is capable of dredging 1.200 
bushels of oysters an hour in water forty feet deep. From 
a Report of the Conn. Shell-fish Commission. 




Fig. 2)7- ^ lie largest of the northern oyster fleet. This ves- 
sel, drawing six huge dredges, has a capacity of 8,500 
bushels of ovsters a dav in fortv feet of water. 



Implements and Their Uses 141 

ployed. It may be only partially released and acts as a 
brake to stop the descent of the dredge. A load of 
oysters is drawn up close to the surface of the water, 
then suddenly dropped, checked, and raised again, this 
being repeated until the mud is washed out. 

On reaching the shore, the culled oysters are sorted 
into the various grades that are required by the whole- 
sale trade. 

Before being marketed, oysters are almost invariably 
placed for a time in fresh water. The danger to the 
consumer resulting from this process, as it is usually 
carried on, is great because the fresh water is so often 
contaminated with sewage. Even if it were clean, the 
procedure is not defensible, for its chief object is to 
bloat the oysters so that they will fill a larger measure. 
For freshening, they are placed in flat scows or floats and 
towed into a stream, or are unloaded from the dredg- 
ing boat into tank-like inclosures, where they may be 
covered for a short time with fresh water. 

On the Atlantic coast, the shell trade, as it is called, 
has for many years centered in New York City, most 
of the oysters sent out from Baltimore and Norfolk be- 
ing " shucked." The marketing of oysters in the shell 
has assumed great proportions. Formerly inland cities 
and towns were satisfied with oysters shipped in tin cans. 
Later the container more often employed was a wooden 
pail. But finally, in city restaurants and hotels it be- 
came customary to eat oysters from the half-shell, and 
to-day there is a large demand for them in that form. 

For the most part, however, oysters are still marketed 
removed from the shell. It is not often possible to ob- 
tain anything but shucked oysters in smaller towns and 
villages. It should not be imagined that such oysters are 



142 Our Food MoUusks 

necessarily inferior to the " shell stock," even when they 
are to be eaten raw. It is probable that the tissues of 
an oyster live longer within the shell, though shell stock, 
also, usually is subjected to the fresh water treatment 
before being marketed, and it would be a difficult matter 
to distinguish a difference in the flavor of oysters on the 
half-shell and those that have been shucked. 

Popular requirements in articles of food are usually 
arbitrary and without reason. Appearance often seems 
to be more important than quality or taste. There is a 
demand for pure rich butter, but few would care to 
eat it, for pure, rich butter is not bright yellow. Oranges 
and plums are desired only when they are bright colored 
and large, which too often means that they are sour and 
tasteless. Rice must be polished by removing its most 
nutritious outer parts. Oysters must be bloated and must 
have their natural salt removed in order readily to be 
salable. The same is true of a long list of food-stuffs. 

If one were to write a dissertation on the sense of 
taste, he would have ample room for reflection on the 
causes and significance of diseased tastes, such as those 
that are trained to an enjoyment of some fancy foreign 
cheeses, of partridges and grouse in a state that might 
be naturally pleasing to a buzzard, or of oysters so cop- 
pery that one possessing a taste in its naturally innocent 
state would fear poisoning by them. One curious char- 
acteristic of persons who possess such tastes is that they 
sometimes believe themselves to be able to appreciate the 
most subtle and delicate flavors. Possibly that may be 
true, but carefully conducted experiments on such sub- 
jects might prove interesting. Even consumers of oys- 
ters on the half-shell, possessing normal and unperverted 
tastes, would probably, with few exceptions, declare 



Implements and Their Uses 143 

them to be of much l)ettcr flavor than shucked oysters. 
It is always interesting to hear comments on the fine 
flavor of the oysters, when canned " New York Counts " 
or oysters of a similar brand are served on shells saved 
for the purpose. It is just as interesting to blindfold an 
expert in matters of taste, who then possesses the ad- 
vantage of knowing that he is being tested, and to serve 
him with oysters fresh from the shell, and shucked oys- 
ters, in either case the best that the market affords, but 
both of the same size, in order that his discriminating 
taste may try to distinguish one from the other. 

It cannot be successfully maintained that all oysters 
are alike in flavor when all come fresh and unspoiled from 
the water, or even when all are more or less spoiled by 
the fresh-water treatment. There certainly are very 
positive differences in the flavor of oysters from different 
localities. But probably an unprejudiced observer whose 
sense of taste is normally acute would be slow to admit 
after a trial, that a peculiar and particularly delectable 
flavor characterizes the oysters of every bay, cove and 
river-mouth, as is locally claimed for each of them all 
along the shore. 

Observations of this sort may be of little value to one 
who is fond of oysters and believes that those that he is 
able to purchase are a little superior in flavor to any 
others ; indeed it would be a loss to him to be convinced 
that he had been mistaken. But on the other hand, there 
are persons who believe that they are being given a little 
the worst of everything, and if such may possibly be 
cheered by following the line of experiment suggested, 
it will not have been proposed in vain. 

Returning to the marketing of oysters; it may be 
said that the greater number are opened where they are 



144 ^^^ Food Mollusks 

landed, and hurried to all parts of the country in a fresh 
condition. In former years there was little organization 
in the preparation and distribution of raw oysters, and 
because they soon became spoiled, they were not shipped 
far from the shore. 

Any one who has attempted to open a living oyster, 
appreciates the task of the professional shucker. The 
thin edge of the shell often cuts like a knife. Even 
leather gloves afford slight protection, being cut to shreds 
in a short time. The most successful covering for the 
hand that holds the oyster in shucking, is a thick woolen 
mitten. In spite of every protection, the shucker's hands 
are always covered with cuts. 

When a living oyster is handled, its adductor muscle 
draws the valves of the shell together with such force 
that prying them apart is impossible. More than that, 
the valves fit together so nicely that there is no space 
into which a knife blade may be inserted. The only 
thing to be done is to break off the edges of the shell 
enough to allow a blade to enter, and it is so ex- 
tremely tough that a blow from a hammer is required 
to accomplish it. The oyster is then held with the flat 
valve uppermost. A quick side cut severs the muscle 
from the upper valve, which is thrown off. Another 
cut frees the " meat " from the deep lower valve, from 
which it is thrown into a receptacle of some kind. The 
knife used possesses a blade that is rounded at the tip, 
and cuts on both edges, but is not kept sharp. The handle 
is of wood or iron. The swiftness and dexterity devel- 
oped by an expert shucker are little less than marvelous, 
but the work is always hard and disagreeable. 

The " meats " are washed, measured, and quickly 
packed for shipping. At Baltimore and some other 



Implements and Their Uses 145 

centers, they are often placed in tin cans and henncti- 
cally sealed. These are packed in a wooden box in two 
rows, leaving a space between for ice. Though the tin 
can has gradually fallen into disuse during the last few 
years, it is in some ways the best container yet devised 
for fresh, shucked oysters. But the more usual method 
in the North, as well as at Baltimore and Norfolk, now is 
to use barrels, half-barrels, or pails of wood. Pieces of 
ice are put in with the oysters, a practice that fortunately 
is being abandoned — and before the pure food laws went 
into effect, it is possible a pinch of boric or salicylic acid, 
also — and a cover fitted tightly and securely over them. 
Other containers, such as pint and quart bottles with 
pasteboard stoppers, and double receptacles with a space 
between for ice, are beginning to be used. 

Even without additional refrigeration, these raw oys- 
ters will remain fresh for ten days or two weeks in the 
winter. They are transported by special oyster trains or 
by express, and all the central states, even west of the 
Mississippi, receive them in good condition. Baltimore 
controls a large part of the inland territory, New Haven 
and other Long Island Sound cities naturally supply the 
denser population of New England. Many raw oysters 
from Chesapeake Bay are also sent North. Several fancy 
brands of northern oysters' in the shell, on the other 
hand, find a large market in Baltimore, Washington, and 
other southern cities. 

The packing industry has long been established at Mo- 
bile, and is growing steadily and rapidly at New Orleans. 
There is a great territory in the South to be supplied from 
these centers, but they are also shipping oysters as far 
north as Chicago, and as far west as the Rocky Moun- 
tains. Without doubt New Orleans will in a few years 



146 Our Food Mollusks 

become one of the great oyster shipping centers of the 
country, for the oyster territory about the delta of the 
Mississippi is extensive and possesses great natural ad- 
vantages, and oyster culture has begun there in earnest, 
and under most intelligent control. 

Before means of rapid transit existed, oysters were 
steamed at a temperature far above the boiling point, in 
order to kill the micro-organisms of putrefaction, and 
then canned. Many packing houses, especially in the 
South, still prepare oysters in this way. The virtue — if 
the word may be allowed in this case — of this method 
is simply that oysters so canned may stand on the shelves 
of the country grocery store for several years without 
becoming worse than when they were received. They do 
not, however, commend themselves to any one who has 
eaten raw or freshly cooked oysters. 

Attempts have been made to market oysters pickled in 
spiced vinegar, but with little success. Oysters carefully 
fried in crumbs have also been marketed in sealed tins, 
but for some reason, little demand was created for them. 




CHAPTER X 

NATURAL ENEMIES OF THE AMERICAN 
OYSTER 

HAT may be called the balance of nature — 
the interdependence of organisms on each 
other — as it appears in a multitude of forms, 
is one of the most striking and interesting of 
the phenomena that the naturalist observes. These vital 
relations among living things are frequently complex, in- 
volving many different species of both animals and plants. 
They are not fixed, but even without man's influence, 
are subject to many changes. 

One of the conclusions derived from the study of the 
interrelations of organisms is that every animal and 
every plant has enemies that may injure or destroy it. 
These enemies are not of a single species, but many. 
Wild rabbits, for example, in order to exist must escape 
from foxes, wild members of the cat family, minks, 
weasles, hawks, snakes, and many other vertebrates ; and 
in addition to these they must contend against a host of 
insect and worm parasites. The list does not end here, 
but includes many deadly bacterial and perhaps proto- 
zoan parasites. While this may seem to be an extreme 
case, one may be perfectly certain that even the eagle and 
the lion, that we are accustomed to think of as fearing no 
foe, are subject to attack by many deadly enemies. 
Animals and plants in nature have, through the action 

147 



148 Our Food Mollusks 

of natural selection, developed many means of protec- 
tion, some of them very extraordinary, so that a balance 
is established that allows a species to survive. But when 
man makes his appearance, and domesticates wild plants 
or animals, these equilibriums are disturbed, and com- 
plicated results follow. 

While these conditions might be illustrated by scores 
of interesting examples, that might be selected from the 
observations of naturalists, it is sufficient to call atten- 
tion to the fact that the agriculturist is constantly waging 
a war on numerous enemies that attack every animal or 
plant that he attempts to rear, and that would destroy 
them without his intervention. Not only is this true, 
but often when one foe is conquered, an entirely new 
one appears. It is an ever changing and never ending 
warfare. 

Naturally, the oyster culturist does not escape the ne- 
cessity of fighting oyster enemies, and there are many of 
them. Fortunately, natural surroundings are not greatly 
changed by the methods of the culturist, but even the 
slight changes that are necessary, have facilitated the 
attacks of some enemies, and led to their rapid increase. 
Natural oysters in dense clusters are more or less pro- 
tected from the attacks of starfish, drumfish, boring 
mollusks, and other foes, but when spread out singly on 
smooth bottoms, are easily destroyed. Fortunately the 
distribution of no oyster enemy is as extensive as that 
of the oyster itself. Some of these foes exist only in 
salt water, while others seem to be limited in their dis- 
tribution by temperature. 

In the most northern of the Atlantic grounds, the 
common starfish is by far the most destructive of the 
oyster's foes. Fortunately it is a truly marine animal, 



Enemies of the American Oyster 149 

and is killed quickly when immersed in fresh water. It 
is not abundant in sea-water that is only slightly fresh- 
ened. On the other hand, the oyster is naturally a 
brackish water form. The natural ranges of the two 
forms, then, are not the same, but overlap. It thus hap- 
pens that almost the whole of Chesapeake Bay and the 
shore of the Gulf of Mexico, while salt enough for 
oysters, are too fresh for starfish, and in these regions 
this curse of the northern industry is practically un- 
known. 

It was not until about 1882 that it was recognized as 
a serious menace to the northern industry. The reason 
for this w^as not the sudden appearance of the form at 
that time, but simply that the industry had previously 
been confined to comparatively fresh waters near the 
mouths of rivers, or streams, where the creature found 
difficulty in perpetuating itself. It is usually on the 
outer beds only that oystermen have great trouble with 
the pest. 

The starfish or " five-finger " certainly does not reveal 
its real character by its appearance, for among the shore 
animals, few are seemingly more harmless. Its body 
is made up of a central circular disk, a little more than an 
inch in diameter in the species inhabiting Long Island 
Sound and neighboring waters. From this there radiate 
symmetrically five arms or rays, each five or six inches 
long in a large specimen. The wall of the entire body 
is composed chiefly of short rod-like plates of lime joined 
together at their ends by muscles, and in such a way as 
to form a network. Borne on these plates of the skele- 
ton, and projecting outward over the entire surface, are 
a great many short, blunt, spines. 

The mouth is situated on the under surface in the 



150 Our Food Mollusks 

center of the disk. Radiating from this on the under 
side of each arm, and extending to its tip, are grooves 
from which project a great number of fleshy tubes, each 
provided with a disk-hke sucker at its end. These are 
the tube feet, and are used in locomotion. 

One woukl hardly imagine, after examining a dried 
specimen, with its hard, unyielding body, that it might 

< ''it' 

%" " » « ^'■^ 



^^i"^,^ 









= -= . A A 






V 



5-^ 






Fig. 38. — Common Starfish of the North Atlantic Coast. 

be capable of much bending in any part. But the living 
animal is able to bend these arms upward, downward and 
sideways, to an extreme degree, by the contraction of 
muscles connecting the plates of the skeleton. 

The animal creeps on the bottom with great delibera- 
tion. Six inches in a minute is fair speed for a large 



Enemies of the American Oyster 151 

individual. Its locomotion is accomplished by thrusting 
out a number of the sucker feet in a definite direction 
and attaching them by their ends. The feet may be ex- 
tended an inch or more. After attachment these con- 
tract, other feet that have been tenaciously holding to 
the bottom at the same time detaching, and the body is 
slowly pulled along. Thus, many feet, acting independ- 
ently, reach out in the direction of locomotion, attach, 
and then exert a pull by contracting, while all the time 
other feet that have already contracted loose their hold 
and then reach out again. Slow as these movements 
are, they result in migrations of considerable extent, 
that often surprise and trouble the oyster culturist. 

One other anatomical feature is of interest in this con- 
nection. Nearly the entire interior of the central disk 
of the body is occupied by the stomach, while the arms, 
or rays, are nearly filled by great glands that secrete a 
large quantity of digestive fluid. The starfish feeds 
principally on barnacles and bivalve mollusks. The 
mouth, merely an opening unprovided with teeth, and 
capable of expanding to a diameter of little more than 
half an inch, even in large specimens, is not intended 
to receive the bodies of animals preyed on. Sometimes 
however, very small mollusks are taken into the stomach, 
shell and all, but probably not often. Without teeth or 
other organs for breaking the shell, and with a small 
mouth — merely an opening through a muscular mem- 
brane — how is it possible for a starfish to devour an 
oyster as large as itself? 

Various opinions have been expressed on the matter. 
It has been supposed that the starfish reaches the soft 
parts of the oyster by inserting some part of its hard 
body between the valves so as to keep them wedged open. 



1^2 Our Food MoUusks 

It has also been stated that they break off the edges of the 
oyster's shell so as to make an opening to the interior. 
A mere examination of the body of the starfish would 
show this to be impossible. Tliey have been thought to 
kill their prey by some poison, and even to dissolve the 
shell by some acid. 

The whole performance of disposing of the oyster 
may be witnessed in an aquarium, and appears to be as 
follows. Slowly creeping on to its victim, the starfish 
wraps its rays about it, at the same time taking up such 
a position that its mouth is nearly opposite the shell 
edges. The oyster responds even to this cautious and 
gentle caress by contracting its adductor muscle and clos- 
ing its shell. The contraction of the muscle may be 
made so powerful that if one should attempt to pry the 
valves apart, the tough shell might break without caus- 
ing the muscle to yield. 

The starfish cannot match such a sudden demonstra- 
tion of muscular strength. It simply camps on the trail 
in oriental fashion. If it cannot win now, it may later, 
and it invariably wins. Scores of its feet are attached to 
each valve of the shell. Apparently they contract so as 
to exert a gentle pull in opposite directions, and against 
the oyster's powerful muscle, which in time becomes 
fatigued. Eventually it yields altogether, incapable of 
further effort, and the valves of the shell gape open. It 
is possible that the sucker feet have each in turn en- 
joyed periods of rest during this siege. At any rate, 
their gentle insistence conquers in the end. 

The shell valve will not open far, and the digestible 
part of the mollusk's body is still some distance away — 
but not out of reach. It is a physical impossibility for 
the captor to get the great mass of food into its 



Enemies of the American Oyster 153 

stomach, so to overcome the (hfficnhy, nature has made 
it possible for the stomach to go to the food. The 
greater part of this sack-hke organ is made of a very dis- 
tensible wall. This now begins to roll out of the mouth 
and between the valves of the oyster's shell in the form 
of a great thin sheet. It is spread over the soft tissues 
of the victim's body, the great digestive glands connected 
with the stomach cavity, pour out their secretion through 
tlie tubular passage remaining in the center of the sheet, 
and the food is rendered fluid and absorbed without be- 
ing disturbed from its position within the shell. When 
the meal is finished, the muscular part of the stomach is 
slowly contracted and rolled back through the mouth 
into the body. 

The starfish would not be so great a menace to the 
oyster industry if its appetite were not so nearly insati- 
able. It may live for months practically without food, 
but having the opportunity, it will creep from one 
bivalve to another — whether oyster, clam or mussel — 
without observing a between-meal period, and thus be- 
comes extremely destructive. A small star has been ob- 
served to devour more than fifty clams somewhat smaller 
than itself in six days, and increased in size at a very 
rapid rate. 

It may be interesting to notice that this gluttonous 
habit, certainly one of the most remarkable observed 
among animals, begins in infancy, even at a time when 
the arms are as yet mere rudimentary lobes on the sijdes 
of the minute central disk. Figure 57 represents such a 
precocious infant engaged in the destruction of a baby 
clam. That this is beginning a life of ravin early, may 
be indicated by the fact that the bodies of the two ani- 
mals together measured less than two millimeters across. 



154 ^^^ Food Mollusks • 

At this age the shell of the clam was quite transparent, , 
and the protruded stomach of its infant destroyer was 
observed spread out within it. Newly attached oysters, 
also, as well as those of larger growth, are destroyed in 
the same manner by starfish of various sizes. They are 
never too small to escape. 

Professor A. D. Mead has demonstrated the fact, in- 
teresting both from a biological and economic stand- 
point, that the growth of small starfish is proportionate 
to the amount of food that they consume. Beginning an 
experiment with two starfish of the same age, and with 
bodies about the size of a pinhead, if one is starved, 
it may still be living at the end of a month, but of course 
will not have grown. The other, if well fed, will, in the 
same length of time, have become large enough to cover 
a silver dollar. It was formerly supposed that starfish 
became sexually mature only after a period of six or 
seven years. It is now known that they reproduce on 
attaining a certain size, and size, as indicated above, de- 
pends directly on the amount of food. The result is 
that a female starfish may, if large enough, begin to ex- 
trude eggs during its second summer, and many by that 
time attain the required size. 

Oyster culture would be quite impossible over a large 
part of the northern field if starfish were left to them- 
selves, yet to keep down their numbers is a very dififi- 
cult task. When not excessively numerous in shallow 
water, the culturist sometimes takes up the larger in- 
dividuals one at a time on a spear. 

The real damage is done when starfish move together 
in great numbers, as they often do. Traveling but a 
short distance each day, a great army of them may creep 
over a bed, utterly destroying it. In deep water their 



Enemies of the American Oyster 155 

presence may not be discovered until the damage is done. 
It is thus necessary for the culturist to exercise eternal 
vigilance. The number of these enemies that must be 
dealt with in certain localities may be imagined when it is 
stated that one oyster planter in six years removed from 
his deep water beds ten thousand bushels of them. 

There is considerable variation in their number, due to 
changes in environment. It sometimes happens that a 




"Buniy'- ii|(iiiiii«»\' ''Ctii"!"""'''.!)!;. "■"■■■"I" " ''/«'""™w ""' 



Fig. 39. — Tangle of frayed rope or 
pieces of cotton waste used in col- 
lecting starfish on oyster beds. 
Drawn from a figure published by 
the U. S. Fish Commission. 



year or even more may pass without the appearance of 
great numbers. At another time they become very 
abundant. 

The removal of these pests has always been a very 



156 Our Food Mollusks 

difficult matter, and no entirely satisfactory method has 
been devised for accomplishing it. Several devices have 
been tried and abandoned. Two chief means of dealing 
with them have been employed. In one case everything 
lying on the bottom is removed by dredges. Ordinarily 
this is too expensive, unless oysters thus dredged are in 
need of culling. The second method is one recom- 
mended by the United States Fish Commission, and is 
universally employed; indeed, the oyster industry could 
hardly exist in New England without it. 

Naturalists had for many years used a large mop made 
of frayed rope ends for entangling and raising spiny 
animals from the sea bottom. It was a modification of 
this that the Fish Commission naturalists recommended 
to the Connecticut oystermen. The starfish tangle, as 
shown in the accompanying illustration (Figure 39), 
consists of an iron or wooden bar from which depend 
several chains or wires. On the latter, mops of frayed 
rope or cotton waste are hung. The tangle is dragged 
over the bottom, the spines of the starfish catch on the 
mops, and the load is hoisted to the deck of the vessel 
and plunged into a tank of hot water. 

The tangle does not sweep the bottom clean of star- 
fish, but by its use their number is kept within bounds. 
There is no danger that the pest may ever get beyond 
control. There is great occasion for the southern planter 
to be thankful that he knows nothing of such an oyster 
foe. 

There are several species of snails that are destructive 
to bivalves. Among these the large winkles or conchs 
of northern shores do very little damage; but some of 
the smaller forms, particularly the oyster drill, cause 
large losses here and there along the Atlantic coast. 




Enemies of the American Oyster 157 

The shell of the oyster drill, represented in Fissure 40, 
has a length of an inch or somewhat more. When the 
fleshy parts of the body are extended one may observe 
the flat muscular " foot," and projecting forward above 
it, a proboscis-like extension of the head, on the end of 
which is the mouth. Just within the mouth 
opening, in a position corresponding to that 
of the tongue of higher animals, is developed 
a band of minute, hard, sharp teeth, which 
together constitute what is known as the 
lingual ribbon. 

When at work on the shell of an oyster 
or clam, the foot may be seen to adhere 
firmly to it, while the mouth is everted suf- ^^^- 4o— The 
ficiently to expose the ribbon. This is (Urosalpinx 
pressed against the shell, and a slow, rotary cinirea). 
movement is begun that finally results in the Drawn from 
drilling of a clean, smooth hole directly 
through it. Some of the results of this work are shown 
in Figure 64. It is now only necessary for the drill to 
remove the soft parts of the victim's body by means of 
the proboscis or manubrium, which is thrust through the 
aperture. 

The drill, or Urosalpinx, is most destructive to young 
oysters. It seems to be unable to bore through the shell 
of large individuals. While not nearly so destructive as 
the starfish, it does much damage, because it is continu- 
ally at work, and is so small that it falls through the 
mesh of ordinary oyster dredges. In order to prevent 
this, dredges are sometimes covered with fine-meshed 
nets. 

Like starfish, oyster drills were formerly not numer- 
ous on the New England oyster beds, but in recent years 



158 



Our Food Mollusks 



have increased greatly. In New York Bay and in the 
Chesapeake, they are abundant. Many also are found 
in Pamlico Sound. In the Gulf of Mexico they are ab- 
sent, but it is claimed by oystermen in Louisiana that a 
larger drill, Purpura floridana, is sometimes very de- 
structive. There seems to be much doubt concerning the 
accuracy of this statement. 

Another enemy of the oyster having a wide range, and 
often being destructive, is a member of a group of fishes 




Fig. 41. — The Drumtish (Pogonias chromis). Outline of a 
figure in Dr. Jordan's " Fishes." 

popularly known as croakers. This species, Pogonias 
chromis (Figure 41), is called the drumfish, from a 
deep, croaking noise that it makes while in the water, a 
noise probably connected with the large air bladder. 

The drum is a food fish, though its flesh is coarse, 
and sometimes it attains a weight of nearly one hundred 
and fifty pounds. It is found all along the Atlantic 
coast, and is abundant in the Gulf of Mexico. It gives 
comparatively little trouble in New England waters, but 
farther south, especially in the Gulf, it is often very an- 



Enemies of the American Oyster 159 

noying. It is a bottom feeder, and by means of its 
powerful jaws is able to crush oysters of considerable 
size. The interesting statement is made by oystermen 
that the drum is unable seriously to injure clustered 
oysters on natural reefs because, in attacking a cluster, 
its mouth is soon lacerated by the sharp edges of the 
shells. It is only when oysters are culled and scattered 
singly on prepared bottoms that they become easy vic- 
tims of this enemy. 

Drumfishes are perhaps not more numerous in Louisi- 
ana waters than elsewhere in the Gulf, but because 
oyster culture has only been seriously attempted here, 
their depredations have been specially felt in this state. 
Their attacks are not constant, and it has been observed 
that there is greatest danger to the beds immediately 
after planting, and that if no attack is made during the 
first few days, there is little subsequent danger of it. It 
has been suggested in explanation of this fact that after 
oysters have sunk slightly into the mud and have been 
sprinkled over with sediment, they become inconspicuous 
enough to escape observation by the fish. 

There seems to be but one means of protection against 
these fishes, and that is to build a stockade or fence about 
the beds that they cannot pass through. This is done in 
some parts of the Louisiana field. 

Other fishes sometimes make trouble for the oyster 
farmer. In warmer waters, from the Chesapeake south- 
ward, a valuable food fish, the sheepshead, often feeds 
on young oysters, crushing them by means of its large, 
blunt, incisor-like teeth. 

Rays and skates abound all along the coast. They are 
bottom feeders and their bodies are greatly flattened and 
spread out laterally. Several of these destroy oysters. 



i6o 



Our Food Mollusks 



crushing them with strong jaws that are covered with 
short, hard teeth. The Hst of oyster enemies in this 
group of fishes includes the common skate ; the sting ray, 
or " stingaree," as it is usually called on the shore, a 
form that bears a long, dagger-like spine on the base of 
the tail; and it is supposed, also, the "devil ray," an 

enormous creature having 
a width of eighteen or 
twenty feet, and weigh- 
ing, in some cases, as 
much as twelve hundred 
pounds. The latter, how- 
ever, has been reported as 
an oyster enemy only 
from Port Eades, Louisi- 
ana, where it is known as 
the " stone cracker " — 
though there is probably 
not a stone large enough 
to crack within a hundred 
miles of Port Eades. 

Oystermen believe that 
crabs destroy young oys- 
ters, and this is probably 
true in some cases. The 
pinch of the claws of 
many crabs is powerful 
enough to break the shell 
of small oysters. It is observed that they gather in 
crowds where oysters are being planted, apparently at- 
tracted by broken individuals. It is possible that they 
also attack the uninjured young, though accurate ob- 
servations on this point seem to be wanting. 




FiGu 42. — The sting-ray (Dasyatis 
sabina). Outline of a figure in 
Dr. Jordan's " Fishes." 



Enemies of the American Oyster i6i 

Mr. Ingersoll calls our attention to the fact that " Al- 
drovandus and others of the naturalists of the Middle 
Ages entertained a singular notion relative to the crab 
and the oyster. They state that the crab, in order to 
obtain the animal of the oyster, without danger to their 
own claws, watch their opportunity when the shell is 
open, to advance without noise, and cast a pebble between 
their shells, to prevent their closing, and then extract the 
ani-mal in safety. ' What craft,' exclaims the credulous 
author, ' in animals that are destitute of reason and 
voice.' " 

Every one who eats oysters has observed the small 
oyster crab that lives in the mantle chamber. Only the 
female is found within the oyster's shell, and the male 
has rarely been seen. This small creature is not an 
enemy, but simply a guest. It has been suggested that 
she consumes organic particles brought in by the water 
currents ; but it may be that the masses of mucous secre- 
tion that collect in the mantle chamber constitute " the 
chief of her diet." This, however, is proposed without 
actual observation to support it. 

Members of the mussel family — near allies of the 
oyster — while they do not prey on their cousins, often 
smother or starve them. They frequently become fear- 
ful pests to the oyster culturist, especially in southern 
waters. Their young, finding a suitable lodging-place 
on oyster shells, congregate on them in numbers, at- 
taching by the many tough fibers spun by the byssus 
gland. They may become so numerous as completely to 
cover the oysters and prevent the opening of their shells, 
which, of course, means death. Even if this does not 
occur, they strain out of the water the same organisms 
that the oysters must have for food, and the latter fail 



1 62 Our Food Mollusks 

to grow. Figure 43 well illustrates this condition of 
affairs. At the right, appear the gaping shell edges of 
an unfortunate that has succumbed to the extreme neigh- 
borliness of mussels and barnacles. It may easily be 
imagined after one has by experience measured the force 
necessary to tear the muscles away from their attach- 
ment, what a great task of culling is before the oyster 
culturist whose beds have become infested with these 
bivalves. 

The boring sponge is another animal that finds lodg- 
ment on the oyster shell, and injures its host indirectly. 
Cliona sulphurea is a sponge mass sometimes six inches 
in diameter at its base, attaching by strands of root-like 
tissue that excavate channels within the substance of 
the shell. While this is not done with the purpose of 
using any part of the oyster's body for food, the honey- 
combed shell may accidentally be perforated, making it 
necessary for the oyster to consume all of its energies in 
secreting new shell substance, or the shell may break, ex- 
posing the inner body, which leads to death. Cliona oc- 
curs frequently enough in northern waters, in the Chesa- 
peake, in the Carolinas, and in the Gulf, to be recognized 
as a foe to the oysters. 

In a similar manner the shell of the oyster is per- 
forated and weakened by the boring clam (Martesia 
cuneiformis) in the Gulf of Mexico. This creature in 
infancy bores into the shell and excavates a chamber 
which is used as a dwelling place. A few of these ani- 
mals infesting a shell make it as fragile as when bored by 
the sponge Cliona. 

In brackish and salt water alike, there are almost 
everywhere certain sea-weeds that attach to objects in 
the water, such as stones or shells, and produce great 




Fig. 43. Oyster clustei covered with mussels. 



^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^r'' L^^^r^'^SSuff^ffi^^^^^l 


■■ 




Bj^P 1^9 


H /''"^i^^j^ii^^^^^B 


^tm- m 


H - '^^^p^^P^^n 


^^^nrJ 


^:i|L^^^B 


^Hi 


^^^^' 'ipUfesMHHlHM 


^^^^1 


^^^^^^^^^^k >'^- ''^^LS^^^^^^^^^^B 


mM 



Fig. 44. The nature of the crowding in oyster chisters. iMg- 
ures from Dr. H. F. Moore. Document, V. S. Bureau of 
Fisheries. 



Enemies of the American Oyster 163 

masses of vegetation. Sometimes oyster shells become 
covered by such weeds as the sea lettuce (Ulva), spread- 
ing out great sheets of tissue that are held flat on the 
bottom in tide currents. 

These plants are not parasitic, but may interfere with 
oyster growth by preventing the access of food-bearing 
currents. When oysters so covered are dredged, it is 
necessary to strip the weed off, and in the Gulf, certain 
weeds with cylindrical fibers are brittle enough to break 
into small pieces, and these, getting into the " meats " 
during the shucking process, though harmless, make 
them quite unsalable. From this cause beds are some- 
times temporarily abandoned. 

In the brackish waters in which oysters thrive best, the 
shells rarely become covered with a growth of hydroids. 
These animals with their root-like bases, their branching 
bodies, and beautifully colored spreading zooids, greatly 
resemble gardens of miniature flowering plants; but 
they have no beauties for the oysterman. Feeding on 
minute swimming animals, and merely resting on the 
shells, they do not harm the oysters, but it is difficult to 
clean the shells of them, and both on " shell stock " and 
oysters for shucking they are a nuisance. 

Like other animals, oysters seem to be subject to cer- 
tain diseases, one of which, at any rate, is known. In 
the Chesapeake, and probably all waters to the south, 
there sometimes appears in the pulpy visceral mass, a 
swarm of small worm parasites. These seem not to be 
known to oystermen, who may, however, have noticed 
the very poor condition of certain individuals that are 
really diseased. It was left to a biologist to show that 
disease existed. 

The presence of the parasite Bucephalus prevents the 



164 Our Food Mollusks 

formation of the oyster's sexual products, so that in the 
breeding season, its body appears thin and watery, and 
observations have shown- that under adverse conditions, 
such as long-continued freshness of water, that is a severe 
test of vitality, the mortality on infected beds is much 
greater than elsewhere. This organism seems not to exist 
in northern waters, where ineffectual search has been 
made for it. 

It is possible that future study may reveal other organ- 
isms causing disease in oysters, but extensive epidemics 
apparently do not occur among them. Any such parasitic 
forms, causing diseases in the oyster, would probably al- 
ways be quite harmless if taken into the human digestive 
tract. The germs of typhoid, that may be carried by the 
oyster, of course do not harm it. Distantly related or- 
ganisms do not have the same diseases. 

The list here given is a fairly complete catalog of the 
oyster's enemies, and when it is considered that very few 
of them exist in the same region, it would seem that the 
oyster crop was nowhere menaced by destructive agencies 
more than is the farmer's wheat or corn. On the whole, 
it may be doubted if the menace is anywhere so great. 

Yet any one who has a wide acquaintance with the 
human inhabitants of the shore, has known some who 
illustrate the fact that those who live on the bounty of 
nature without other effort than that needed to gather 
what she has prepared, are apt to be improvident and un- 
successful. A great many oystermen complain that 
their business is a poor one — and it is. But those who 
have gone to the sea with the energy requisite to suc- 
cess anywhere, and with the intelligence necessary to as- 
sist and direct nature, have found her, like wisdom itself, 
*' easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits." 



Enemies of the American Oyster 165 

In spite of enemies and bad seasons, many an energetic 
oysterman, beginning with small capital, has built up a 
comfortable fortune. There is a constantly growing de- 
mand for this form of food, and there are hundreds of 
miles of fertile bottoms, now barren, where, with com- 
paratively little labor, it may be produced, and other 
fortunes will be made on them. 




CHAPTER XI 

BIVALVES IN RELATION TO DISEASE 

ECENTLY great popular interest has been 
awakened in regard to shell-fish, and par- 
ticularly oysters, as carriers of the micro- 
organisms that cause certain human diseases. 
The daily press, and especially popular magazines, have 
published numerous articles that might well have proved 
to be disquieting, on the dangerous conditions existing 
on oyster beds or in waters in which oysters are stored 
or freshened. On the other hand, some claiming to be 
competent authorities, have publicly stated with much 
positiveness that oysters cannot transmit diseases, and it 
may well puzzle the average reader to know where the 
truth lies. Because oysters are so highly prized, and are 
so generally consumed uncooked, the matter of the pos- 
sible danger that may lie in them has excited a growing 
desire to know the facts. 

Newspaper and magazine science should be received 
with caution and discrimination, but it now happens very 
much more frequently than formerly that popular 
scientific articles are prepared with due regard to matters 
of fact, and are sometimes presented by eminent author- 
ities. Though much that has been written on the possi- 
bility of the contamination of oysters and clams may 
have had the appearance of exaggeration, the truth has 
usually been stated. One human disease at least, greatly 

1 66 



Bivalves in Relation to Disease 167 

feared on account of its insidious and dangerous nature, 
is without doubt sometimes communicated to man by 
oysters, and certainly may frequently be so transmitted 
both by this form and by other shell-fish that are eaten 
uncooked. 

Typhoid fever, known and dreaded nearly everywhere, 
is caused by a rod-like bacterium or bacillus that enters 
the body through the digestive tract. Several sources of 
infection are very well understood. The most common 
is drinking water, and many epidemics of the disease 
have been traced to it in ways that do not admit of doubt. 
Milk, also, is often the medium by which it is introduced, 
but here the real sources have been proved to be the per- 
son handling the receptacles for it or, more often, the 
water in which cans or bottles have been washed. The 
recent epidemics of army camps also have shown that the 
organisms may be introduced into the digestive tract on 
solid food. In such cases flies that have gathered in- 
fected material on their appendages alight on food ready 
to be eaten, and leave some of it there. It is probable 
that the bacillus of typhoid passes through the digestive 
tract of the fly without being injured, and if allowed to 
do so, the fly deposits its digestive tract discharges on 
food. Within a considerable distance of a typhoid fever 
patient — or convalescent for that matter — these 
creatures, formerly regarded merely as pests, become 
deadly enemies. It may also be stated as a fact that 
epidemics are sometimes caused by eating uncooked 
oysters. Several times they have been traced directly 
to that source. The evidence collected on that point in 
this country and abroad is conclusive, and a biological 
study of the habits of this and other bivalves clearly in- 
dicates the way in which the transmission is accomplished. 



i68 Our Food Mollusks 

It is just as certain that clams and mussels taken from 
polluted waters may as readily bear the organisms of 
typhoid, but except the *' little neck," these are not so 
often eaten uncooked, and for this reason the fever is 
not so frequently contracted through their agency. 

One of the important facts concerning the disease is 
that vast numbers of typhoid bacilli leave the body of 
the patient in the digestive tract discharges and in the 
urine, and more important still, that a convalescent from 
the disease is as dangerous to others as a patient, if not 
more so, for the organisms continue to appear in the dis- 
charges from his body for many months after recovery. 
With this knowledge of the nature of the disease, and 
the organism causing it, its extermination seemed pos- 
sible, and the statement was made and often repeated 
that for every new case of typhoid there should be a 
hanging. But recently discovered facts indicate that 
certain persons at least, after having suffered from the 
disease, may continue for many years, and perhaps for 
life, 'to pass typhoid bacilli from the body, and that this 
may be true even when the disease occurred in so light 
or obscure a form that its true nature was not recog- 
nized. 

While there is much criminal carelessness in the mat- 
ter, especially where there is a convenient sewage system, 
the discharges from the bodies of patients are some- 
times disinfected before being disposed of, as of course 
they always should be, but this is probably never true of 
convalescents, and typhoid carriers are a constant menace 
wherever they may go. The result is that the sewage 
from almost any city constantly contains some of these 
organisms which remain alive in it for a long time. 
Even when sewage is treated in disposal plants, or^an- 



Bivalves in Relation to Disease 169 

isms from the human body may sometimes be found in 
the water that runs away from them to our rivers and 
harbors and bays, in very many of wliich, along the 
coast, are oyster and clam beds. It is altogether prob- 
able that other intestinal diseases may also be dissem- 
inated by shell-fish taken from polluted waters, but not 
so much is known of this as of typhoid fever. 

It is explained in the chapter on the feeding habits of 
shell-fish that large quantities of water are constantly 
being drawn within the shell and into the interior of the 
basket-like gills. Even the minutest of solid particles 
borne by this stream are stopped on the outer surfaces of 
these organs and caused to adhere in masses by the pres- 
ence of a sticky mucus. The organisms of diseases, 
though very minute, are not small enough to escape. 
Several gallons of water every day pass through the gills 
of every full grown oyster or clam, and every solid 
particle is removed from it and remains in the body. 

This collected material is then passed on to the mouth, 
and once in the digestive tract of the bivalve, the organ- 
isms dangerous to man probably are eventually killed by 
the digestive fluids. But because the collecting process 
never ceases, at least when the creatures are continually 
submerged as are oysters and little necks, they may be 
present on the gill surfaces at all times. The shell sur- 
faces also afford lodging places for them, and to handle 
them is not safe. The organisms probably are not at all 
injured by the gill secretions, and, carried into the human 
digestive tract when a raw oyster or little neck is eaten, 
will multiply and cause the disease. It is thus plain that 
even if relatively few in the water, the chances are that a 
dangerous number of- disease organisms will be strained 
out of it by these shell-fish. 



lyo Our Food Mollusks 

It may not be pleasant to contemplate these facts, but 
that there is here a real menace to health is not any 
longer to be questioned, and the more generally it is un- 
derstood the better. Between twenty-five and thirty 
millions of bushels of oysters alone are annually sent to 
market from our shore beds, and it may seem strange 
that, under the conditions, any considerable number of 
the inhabitants of this country escape some terrible dis- 
ease contracted from eating shell-fish. While typhoid 
fever, often very difficult to diagnose, is more prevalent 
than is generally realized, there is no necessity for alarm 
but only for caution in this case. The reason that there 
is not more danger from bivalves is that, while they are 
wonderfully efficient mechanisms for straining danger- 
ous organisms out of the water, such organisms prob- 
ably do not accumulate in living masses by multiplication 
in their bodies, but are perhaps soon destroyed by the 
digestive fluids. Only those that happen to be on the 
gills or other surfaces of the body at the time of market- 
ing are dangerous. Again, long neck clams, quahaugs, 
scallops, and even oysters, are usually cooked before being 
eaten, and any dangerous organisms that they may bear 
are thus killed. A healthy human body, also, is able 
to withstand many an invasion of them without danger 
if they are not too numerous. 

But caution certainly is necessary, and it is well to 
know something of the source of this food when pos- 
sible. There is slight danger from little necks or other 
clams not taken in the mouths of harbors or rivers bear- 
ing sewage. The same is undoubtedly true of oysters 
taken from the majority of beds along our coast. But 
the trouble lies in the fact that before food mollusks are 
marketed they are almost invariably placed for a few 



Bivalves in Relation to Disease 171 

hours in fresh water to undergo what the oystermen 
term the drinking process. Oysters sold in the shell as 
well as those that have been shucked are usually sub- 
jected to the fresh water treatment. To make delays 
and the cost of transportation as slight as possible, the 
localities selected for this are almost without exception 
in harbors or river mouths near large markets. In very 
many cases such waters bear the sewage of cities of hun- 
dreds of thousands of inhabitants. 

It should be recognized that this source of danger to 
the public health could easily be removed. A strong 
popular sentiment against the process of freshening 
oysters might lead to its voluntary discontinuance by 
dealers, or to legislative prohibition, and the enforce- 
ment of laws against the practice would largely do away 
with the danger. The end might perhaps be attained if 
intelligent health officers were empowered to forbid the 
sale of such as are taken from, or stored in, contam- 
inated waters. The State Board of Health of Massa- 
chusetts is the first to prevent the sale of shell-fish from 
certain dangerous bottoms. 

It is a curious fact that many persons who may be will- 
ing to accept the truth of statements on the nature of in- 
fectious diseases and their transmission, yet regard the 
dissemination of such knowledge almost with resent- 
ment, apparently because it is disturbing to peace of 
mind, and may have a tendency to interfere with careless 
habits. Who has not heard remarks of this nature: — 
" Our fathers lived in comparative safety, but science has 
surrounded us with deadly germs. We are afraid of 
the crystal water from the old oaken bucket, and drink 
what comes through the mains with protesting fears. 
We are worried because we do not know the source of 



172 Our Food Mollusks 

our lettuce and celery. Flies and mosquitoes that we can- 
not escape have become more deadly than serpents. We 
cannot keep the dust from our houses, and are assured 
that germs lurk in it. The church, the theater, the cars 
are germ-laden, and we are not able to draw a comfort- 
able breath. Away with such nonsense ! We must live, 
and the germ theorists are trying to make existence im- 
possible." 

But there is little advantage in trying to hide from the 
fact that recognized dangers to health and life are more 
numerous than they were in former times. The cheer- 
ful thing about it is that such knowledge has revealed 
so many avenues of escape from them that were before 
unknown. Some dangers of course remain to be faced, 
but fear of them is ordinarily unwarrantable, and famili- 
arity with them should not breed fear any more than con- 
tempt, but only caution which, when it is habitually prac- 
tised, ceases even to make one uncomfortable. It might 
be supposed that even a dissection of the body of an 
oyster would result in a loss of appetite for it as an 
article of food, but expert testimony may easily be had 
to the effect that this is not true; and knowledge of the 
fact that some oysters carry typhoid bacilli does not alter 
the flavor of un freshened salt water individuals that one 
is reasonably certain have come to his table directly from 
deep waters far from shore. 

While every one must take some risks in eating and 
drinking, there is little excuse for foolhardiness, and 
precaution usually costs little. So far as oysters are con- 
cerned, the reasonable person will even be willing to do 
what he can to assure himself of the source from which 
they come, and will require a statement from the packer 
who supplies his retail dealer concerning the position of 



Bivalves in Relation to Disease 173 

his oyster beds and the directness with which oysters 
are transferred from them to the shipping containers. 
If this is not possible, he will not eat his oysters un- 
cooked. He will also examine the containers employed 
by his retail dealer, and ask to see those in which the 
oysters were shipped, especially when they are shucked. 
One fact concerning oysters that are to be eaten un- 
cooked cannot be too strongly expressed. It is that, as 
the preparation of oysters for market is now usually 
carried on, it is never safe to eat those that have been 
freshened or bloated. Those coming directly from salt 
water beds far removed from shore are likely to be safe 
if ordinary care has been taken in washing and icing 
them. Some dealers are already beginning to take great 
precautions against the possible infection of the oysters 
that they handle, and a little discrimination on the part 
of the consumer would soon add to their number. The 
matter of safety rests largely with him. 




CHAPTER XII 

THE NORTHERN OYSTER FIELD- 
HISTORICAL 

OR the sake of convenience, the oyster coast 
may arbitrarily be divided into several fields. 
\\'hat may be called the northern field in- 
cludes the shores of New England, New 
York, and New Jersey. The second includes the Ches- 
apeake, the third the Carolina and south Atlantic shores, 
the fourth the Gulf of Mexico, and the fifth the Pacific 
coast. A brief account of the history of the industry 
and natural conditions peculiar to each of these fields will 
be given. 

Cape Cod is an interesting part of our Atlantic coast 
to the biologist, because it tends to separate two faunas 
and floras. The warm gulf stream, turning northward 
through Florida Strait, follows the shore closely until it 
reaches this cape, and is then deflected away from the 
shore. From the north, the cold arctic current descends 
along the coasts of Labrador and Newfoundland, a por- 
tion of it continuing southward closely hugging the Nova 
Scotia and Maine coasts, and finally ending in Massa- 
chusetts Bay on the north side of Cape Cod. Because 
of the resulting differences in temperature, many marine 
animals and plants are found on one side of the cape, 
that are not able to exist on the other. There are, how- 

174 



The Northern Oyster Field 175 

ever, many forms that inhabit the cold and warm waters 
alike, and among them are the oyster and the soft 
clam. 

At the present time the " wild " oyster is practically ex- 
tinct north of the cape, a circumstance that might lead one 
to believe that these icy northern waters are not congenial 
to it, and there is much foundation for such a belief. 
Its growth and reproduction are much more rapid in 
warmer waters, but are not impossible in some of the 
sheltered bays even of Maine. A cjuarter of a century 
ago a few scattered oysters, the descendants of native an- 
cestors, were known to exist a few miles up from the 
mouth of the Piscataqua River in New Hampshire, and 
it is possible that some of them still remain. It is also 
true that the oyster has existed and may be found even 
to-day farther north than the extent of our coast. In 
the Gulf of St. Lawrence lies Prince Edward Island, and 
between it and the shore to the south is the shallow 
Northumberland Strait. At the mouths of many of the 
small rivers entering this, both on the mainland and on 
the island, are oyster beds of considerable size. 

This fact alone would suggest that at one time natural 
oyster beds connected this isolated northern region with 
those south of Massachusetts Bay, and many interesting 
facts, especially those collected by Mr. Ernest Ingersoll, 
substantiate that theory. It is perfectly certain that for 
a long time before the first Europeans visited this con- 
tinent, oysters flourished at a few points on the north 
New England coast, and that they were still abundant 
at the time of the arrival of the early colonists. 

Our knowledge of the matter comes largely from 
numerous mounds of oyster shells that dot the shore. 
Such ancient collections, found in many parts of the 



176 Our Food Mollusks 

world, and especially on sea shores, have always ex- 
cited great interest, and have told many tales of 
ancient peoples, as well as of the inhabitants of the 
sea. 

The Danish Kjokkenmoddings, or " heaps of kitchen 
refuse," among the first to be studied, were formerly 
supposed to have been accumulated by wave action, and 
some have suggested that our own " kitchen middens " 
were also merely beach deposits thrown up in great 
storms or by the action of ice. But the critical eye 
would at once see that in the majority of cases their 
form and position alone preclude the possibility of such 
an origin, and examination has revealed among the 
shells and rubbish not only the bones of many beasts and 
birds, but also stone implements, pottery, and even the 
charred remains of ancient fires. 

Such shell heaps are found all along the Pacific coast, 
from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Florida keys on 
the Atlantic, and nearly everywhere on the Gulf of 
Mexico. Many of them are of immense size. In Flor- 
ida, there are vast repositories, the accumulations of 
ages. On the Chesapeake, single heaps often cover 
many acres, in some places to a depth of twenty feet. 
In the northern oyster field, there is a great kitchen mid- 
den at the mouth of the Damariscotta River in Maine, 
the contents of which are estimated at eight million cubic 
feet. It, like other shell heaps, contains many relics of 
the native peoples who formed it, and without doubt 
marks the gathering-place of Indian tribes, many of 
which probably came from a distance to attend great 
feasts. 

So numerous are these shell collections along the 
Maine coast that even the summer visitor, cruising in his 



The Northern Oyster Field 177 

small boat among its rocky islands, that rise straight up 
from the water, or in its innumerable bays, with their 
steep, wooded shores, may easily discover them for him- 
self, if he will explore the backs of the little beaches 
that he comes upon here and there. The same is true 
of the coast of Nova Scotia. The shells that he finds, 
often covered by a growth of large trees above them on 
the bank, are usually those of the soft clam ; but there 
are also many heaps all along the coast made almost en- 
tirely of oyster shells. The immense pile on the Dama- 
riscotta, for example, is composed largely of them. This 
proves that the oyster is indigenous to these cold north- 
ern waters. The shells are not those of a northern or 
of an extinct species, but of our modern American 
oyster. 

In addition to the evidence afforded by shell heaps, 
the records of the early colonists contain many refer- 
ences to extensive oyster beds on this northern shore 
that they found on their arrival, and from which, for 
many years, they obtained food. Ingersoll says that 
there is abundant evidence that, at the time of the com- 
ing of Europeans, oysters were flourishing in the Bay of 
Fundy, at Mt. Desert Island, at the mouths of Georges, 
Damariscotta, and Sheepscott rivers, in Maine; in Ports- 
mouth Harbor and the Great Bay of Durham River, in 
New Hampshire; in the Parker, Rowley, Ipswich, 
Charles, and Mystic rivers, and at Weymouth, Barn- 
stable, and Wellfleet, in Massachusetts. 

That oysters in a natural state do not now exist north 
of Cape Cod as formerly, is due to two chief causes. 
Their numbers were greatly reduced by excessive tong- 
ing, and silt, washed from cultivated fields, was de- 
posited at the river mouths, thus making it impossible 



178 Our Food Mollusks 

for the oyster young to exist as in the earher time, when 
the waters were clear. 

The early settlers also found oysters in great abun- 
dance all along the shore southward from Cape Cod. 
Natural beds were present in many parts of Buzzards 
and Narragansett bays, and almost everywhere on the 
Connecticut coast. Just across the sound on the western 
half of the Long Island shore, they were equally numer- 
ous. The bays on the sea side of Long Island also 
contained many oysters. All about Manhattan Island 
they were very abundant, occurring on both sides of 
East River and the Hudson, extending up the latter as 
far as Ossining. The waters about Staten Island bore 
a rich harvest. In New Jersey, Barnegat Bay, the long, 
river-like body of water that parallels the shore line, 
afforded suitable conditions for oyster growth, as did 
the much larger Delaware Bay, south of it. 

The early colonists on the northern shore established 
themselves near the coast. It was natural that they 
should for some time depend largely on the sea for their 
food. Agriculture on a scale proportionate to their 
needs had to be developed in the face of great difficulties. 
On the other hand, the waters contained fishes in in- 
credible numbers, beaches and flats were crowded with 
clams, and almost every shallow bay and river mouth 
supported extensive oyster colonies. These could be ob- 
tained at all times of the year. Even in New England, 
with its terrible winters, clams were dug from the 
beaches, and oysteis were sometimes taken through the 
ice. 

. But finally oysters became so scarce in Massachusetts 
Bay that before the end of the seventeenth century laws 
were passed taxing those exported, and prohibiting 



The Northern Oyster Field 179 

oyster longing by outsiders. These measures, however, 
were insufficient, and natural oyster beds soon disap- 
peared entirely. They persisted longest^ at Wellfleet, 
near the end of the cape, but their destruction came, 
even here, from excessive fishing about the year 

1775- 

The natural oyster growth on the shores of Con- 
necticut, Long Island, and Manhattan Island, was so 
extensive that it was long before there was any anxiety 
about its depletion. From the time the country was 
first settled, however, there was a steady decline, and 
early in the nineteenth century it began to attract at- 
tention. 

Meanwhile it had been observed that any hard, smooth 
body thrown into the water near oyster beds in the early 
summer became covered with young oysters. The pos- 
sibilities of human control over natural processes 
wrapped up in such a simple phenomenon, \vould escape 
the attention of the great majority of men. To see the 
possibilities there presented, required imagination — and 
imagination under intellectual control, such as has ad- 
vanced science at all times. And a few East River 
oystermen proved themselves to be real scientists, when, 
on this simple natural phenomenon, they built up a 
method of artificial oyster culture that brought material 
well-being not only to themselves, but to a great number 
of their countrymen as well. It should not be forgotten, 
as has been pointed out by Professor Brooks, that before 
the people of France, England, Belgium, or Germany 
discovered a method of controlling and vastly improving 
the natural production by the sea of a great source of 
human food, these men had found it, and had put it into 
practice. 



i8o Our Food Mollusks 

In the year 1855 ^ ^^^ East River oystermen began 
to spread clean shells on some of the unproductive bot- 
toms near City Island. This was done under the pro- 
tection of a very wise law, passed in the same year, that 
gave them the right to occupy and control certain definite 
tracts on the river bottom. Multitudes of young oysters 
settled on these shells, and were transplanted and cared 
for until they had become large enough to be marketed. 
In this way there arose a method of controlling the 
natural production of the water that is similar to that 
practised on the land. 

We cannot depend on a natural, undomesticated 
growth of land plants or animals for food. In nature 
one generation usually gives rise only to an equal number 
of descendants that reach maturity. But grains and 
fruits placed on waste places, in soil that has been pre- 
pared for them, are made to reproduce many fold, and 
swine, sheep, and cattle that, under natural conditions, 
could not long maintain numbers great enough to be of 
use to man, with protection from him, appear on a 
thousand hills. And American oyster culture, though 
simple, affords the essential element of protection from 
destructive natural agencies that has covered desert 
places with plenty. Compared with the achievements of 
agriculture those of the early sea farmers seem simple; 
but it should not escape attention that it had always been 
the common belief that the organisms of the sea were un- 
tameable. It required bold thinking, unfettered by the 
prejudice of generations, to conceive of the possibility of 
adding such a realm to man's dominion. 

Connecticut and other northern states with waters 
suitable for oyster growth, followed New York in enact- 
ing laws fostering the new industry. By their protection 



The Northern Oyster Field i8i 

there was built up an artificial source of supply while 
that of nature was being destroyed. It must not be sup- 
posed, however, that this was accomplished without a 
struggle. Everywhere there was strenuous opposition to 
the sale or lease of bottoms, particularly from tho^e 
whose living depended on the gathering of oysters from 
natural beds, and the lawmakers very wisely decided 
that the industry was possible only under private own- 
ership, as in the case of agriculture. 

But some of the colonial charters had reserved all 
beaches below high tide line for the State. There were no 
private beach rights or rights to shore bottoms under 
water. Probably no one desired rights to such bottoms 
until oyster culture was developed. By that time the 
idea had been fixed by tradition that the sea was and 
should be the common possession of all. So objection 
was made not only to the sale or lease of bottoms bearing 
oyster beds, but also barren bottoms on which oysters 
had never been known to grow. Oyster culture has had 
to contend against this principle at all points along the 
entire coast. This state of mind is typically set forth 
by Mr. Ingersoll, who describes the efforts of a New 
Brunswick fisheries inspector to convert the natives to 
the idea of oyster culture, which of course involved the 
lease of bottoms. They had destroyed the natural beds 
by excessive raking, but would not hear to a lease. The 
only argument that he elicited was " My grand f adder 
rake oysters, my fadder he rake oysters when he want 
'em, and by Gar! I rake him too." 

One of the great objections to sale or lease was that 
monopolies would thereby be fostered. This objection 
to the lease has been used in every state possessing oyster 
bottoms. As a result, the earlier laws allowed the lease 



i82 Our Food MoUusks 

only of a small plot to a single person. Connecticut, for 
example, allowed but two acres. Ordinarily these were 
quite insufficient for the support of a family, but it was 
not difficult to evade this provision when a man was al- 
lowed also to develop the adjacent acres leased by *' his 
sisters, his cousins, and his aunts." In this way a single 
person often came to control a large area. 

It was soon found that such monopolistic holdings 
not only worked no injury, but were of great benefit to 
every one in the neighborhood including those who 
worked only on the public beds, who found the rapidly 
extending markets and high prices obtained by the large 
holder much to their liking. More liberal laws in this 
state finally allowed the unlimited lease or sale of barren 
bottoms. This has proved to be the wisest possible pro- 
vision. 

One interesting provision of the earlier oyster laws 
that has, in some states, been preserved in those now in 
operation, is the close season. Where this is in force, 
oysters may not be dredged or marketed during the sum- 
mer months. Southern states particularly should note 
that experience in tlie northern field has proved the futil- 
ity of the close season as a protection to the natural beds, 
and should recognize the injustice of allowing a culturist 
to market a commodity, produced on his own property, 
only during a limited season. It is an unjust and purpose- 
less restriction. 

The entire futility of a close season as a provision to 
preserve natural beds, is well illustrated by the destruc- 
tion in early days of natural beds near New Haven, 
Conn. This has been graphically described by Mr. Inger- 
soll as follows : — 

" The fishing was done mainly for each man's winter 



The Northern Oyster Field 183 

supply, and nobody paid much attention to any regula- 
tion of it beyond the close-time in summer. Gradually, 
however, these public river oysters became more rare and 
coveted. The law was ' off ' on the first day of Novem- 
ber, and all the natural beds of the state became open to 
any person who wished to work them. In anticipation 
of the date, great preparations were made in the towns 
along the shore, and even for twenty miles back from 
the sea side. Boats and rakes and baskets and bags were 
put in order. The day before, large numbers of wagons 
came toward the shore from the back country, bringing 
hundreds of men with their utensils. Among these were 
not unfrequently seen boats, borne in the rigging of a 
hay cart, ready to be launched on the expected morning. 
It was a time of great excitement, and nowhere greater 
than along the Quinepiac. On the day preceding, farmers 
flocked into Fair Haven from all the surrounding country 
and brought with them boats and canoes, of antique pat- 
tern and ruinous aspect. These rustics always met with 
a riotous welcome from the town boys, who hated rural 
competition. They were very likely to find their boats, if 
not carefully watched, stolen and hidden before they had 
a chance to launch them, or even temporarily disabled. 
These things diversified the day and enlivened a com- 
munity usually very peaceful if not dull. As midnight 
approached, men dressed in oilskin and carrying oars, 
paddles, rakes, and tongs collected all along the shore, 
where a crowd of women and children assembled to see 
the fun. Every sort of craft was prepared for action, 
and they lined the whole margin of the river and harbor 
on each side in thick array. As the ' witching hour ' 
drew near, the men took their seats with much hilarity 
and nerved their arms for a few moments' vigorous 



184 Our Food Mollusks 

work. No eye could see the face of the great church 
clock on the hill, but lanterns glimmered on a hundred 
watch-dials and then were set down, as only a coveted 
minute remained. There was a hush in the merriment 
along the shore, an instant's calm, and then the great bell 
struck a deep-toned peal. It was like an electric shock. 
Backs bent to oars and paddles churned the water. From 
opposite banks, waves of boats leaped out and advanced 
toward one another in the darkness, as though bent on 
mutual annihilation. ' The race was to the swift and 
every stroke was the mightiest.' Before the twelve blows 
upon the loud bell had ceased their reverberations, the 
oyster beds had been reached, tongs were scraping the 
long-rested bottom, and the season's campaign upon the 
Ouinepiac had begun. In a few hours, the crowd upon 
some beds would be such that the boats were pressing 
close together. They were all compelled to move along 
as one, for none could resist the pressure of the multi- 
tude. The more thickly covered beds were quickly 
cleaned of their bivalves. The boats were full, the wag- 
ons were full, and many had secured what they called 
their ' winter's stock ' before the day was done, and 
thousands of bushels of oysters were packed away under 
blankets of sea-weed, in scores of cellars. The first day 
was the great day. By the next day the rustic crowd had 
departed, but the oysters continued to be sought. A 
week of this sort of attack, however, usually sufficed to 
clean the bottom so thoroughly that subsequent raking 
was of small account." 

To-day natural sources of supply in the northern field 
amount to little except for seed that they produce. The 
same has long been true in Europe. There are still enor- 
mous natural oyster reefs in the south Atlantic and Gulf 



The Northern Oyster Field 185 

fields, but they cannot last. Where there is such great 
abundance, it seems to be difficult to believe that it is 
not inexhaustible. Though it must disappear, its place 
will undoubtedly be taken before that event by a better 
and much larger supply such as now exists in the North. 





CHAPTER XIII 

PRESENT CONDITIONS IN THE 
NORTHERN FIELD 

F one were to sit before a large map of the 
United States and, compass in hand, compare 
the extent of other parts of the Atlantic and 
Gnlf shore line with that extending from Del- 
aware Bay to Narragansett Bay, which comprises what 
may be called the northern oyster field, he would dis- 
cover, if he were not already acquainted with the fact, 
that in extent the latter is relatively a very short stretch 
of coast. To be sure, this is merely a matter of miles, 
but it must be admitted, after measuring the irregular 
shore lines of inland waters connected with the sea, that 
there are many of them between the Delaware and the 
Mexican boundary. 

l86 



Conditions in the Northern Field 187 

But a very large part of this is actually or potentially 
a part of our oyster territory. Here is a wonderful suc- 
cession of bays, estuaries, sounds and lagoons, vast 
nurseries in which multitudes of marine animals and 
plants flourish; where conditions for shell-fish growth 
in particular arc unrivaled, and of these the oyster is 
most widely distributed and naturally most abundant. 

Our attention is often called in a deprecating manner 
to the enthusiastic admiration of many Americans for 
the big things possessed by their own country. Even if 
this state of mind might be regarded as a national char- 
acteristic, it would be possible to suggest more grevious 
and less patriotic sentiments held by some of those who 
number themselves among the judicious. Perhaps 
something may be said for pride in the great achieve- 
ments and great resources of one's own land even when 
its expression involves comparisons. 

Possibly it would do no harm to make the statement 
for the benefit of such enthusiastic Americans, that no- 
where do oysters grow so rapidly, nowhere are they so 
abundant, nowhere may they be so easily cultivated, and 
nowhere is the oyster area of such vast extent, as on our 
Atlantic and Gulf shores. In truth here is very much the 
largest thing of its kind in the world. 

They may also know, if they choose to pursue the mat- 
ter, that there are to-day immense oyster covered areas 
in the South that lie undisturbed, that natural beds in the 
Chesapeake have been tonged and dredged for nearly 
three centuries without becoming entirely exhausted ; 
that in northern waters cultivated areas have taken the 
place of natural beds, and arc producing more and finer 
oysters than before; and that much larger tracts, on 
which oysters formerly never grew, are yielding a har- 



i88 Our Food Mollusks 

vest equally abundant and valuable. As a home for 
mollusks useful as human food, no other shore is com- 
parable to this. 

Even in size, the eastern American oyster has a great 
advantage over its European cousin. Some, having be- 
come familiar with the diminutive oyster obtained 
abroad, may question the superiority of mere size in our 
native product. There is much, it may be said, in dainti- 
ness and delicacy. Hence the popularity of Blue Points 
and other baby oysters that formerly found no favor in 
American markets. On account of their very small, 
thin, rounded shells, these are in great demand. But it is 
a safe statement that the average American who has 
eKperienced the Blue Point flavor in New York, could 
/riot sit down in Norfolk to half a dozen large, fat, adult 
ly Lynnhavens, which afford not only the finest flavor, but 
also something to eat, without declaring the superiority 
of the latter. However the matter of superiority as an 
article of food may be decided, the fact remains that the 
American oyster, north or south, will become as large 
as the Lynnhaven if allowed to grow under favorable 
conditions, while a large native oyster in European waters 
is an impossibility. 

The flat and the Portuguese oysters of Europe have a 
shell but two or three inches long and are very thin. 
The eastern American oyster, on the other hand, some- 
times attains a length of a foot or more. " There be 
great ones," wrote William Wood of Massachusetts in 
1634, "in form of a shoe-horne; some be a foot long." 
A shell fifteen inches long was taken from the Damaris- 
cotta shell heap in Maine. Oysters six or seven inches 
long and more than four inches wide are sometimes 
found in our markets. 



Conditions in the Northern Field 189 

Oysters from some localities are thin shelled, as in the 
eastern end of the Great South Bay, the home of the 
Blue Point. Usually the shell is thick and heavy. Its 
thickness depends on the amount of lime in solution in 
the water. In the Carolina sounds and southward, as 
also in the Gulf of Mexico, natural oysters are charac- 
terized by relatively small and much elongated shells. 
But without question, all of these variations in appear- 
ance are due simply to local differences in environment, 
and there is a single species, Ostrea virginica, on the At- 
lantic and Gulf coasts. In this form the sexes are sepa- 
rate. It is sometimes stated that an individual may 
change its sex, being male one year and female another, 
but there is no foundation for such a statement. 

One important element in the development of the 
modern industry in the North was the aid received from 
the Chesapeake. The planting of small oysters never 
began anywhere until the natural beds had been practi- 
cally destroyed. The demand for small seed oysters then 
outgrew the supply. 

As early as 1825, a few small seed oysters from Ches- 
apeake Bay were transferred to waters near Staten Island. 
At about the same time the town of Wellfleet on Cape 
Cod had sent to Buzzards Bay and then to Connecticut 
for seed oysters. Finally it began to receive them from 
Virginia, and during the decade following 1850, from 
one hundred to one hundred and fifty thousand bushels 
were transported each year from the Chesapeake to beds 
near this town. The Civil War made it impossible to 
obtain much seed, and Wellfleet did not subsequently 
recover its position as an oyster center. 

During these same years just preceding the war, Nar- 
raganselt Bay, Long Island Sound, New York Bay, and 



190 Our Food Mollusks 

Delaware Bay each had come to depend on the Chesa- 
peake for its seed. Each year half a million bushels 
were used in Narragansett Bay, and an equal number at 
New Haven, while nearly a million bushels were trans- 
ferred to the west or Delaware side of Delaware Bay. 
Even after the war this great business continued. 

But in the course of time, the Connecticut oystermen 
perfected the methods of capturing young oysters in their 
own waters. By the year 1880 the transportation of 
southern seed to the northern field had fallen off greatly. 
Ever since, there has been a steady decline, and to-day 
very little Chesapeake seed is planted north of Delaware 
Bay. On the other hand, the Connecticut culturists now 
are able not only to supply the entire northern field, but 
arc sending an increasingly large quantity of seed to the 
Pacific coast as well as to Europe. 

Instead of suffering from the loss of this business, the 
Virginia shore of the Chesapeake, from which the greater 
part of the supply had come, really gained by it. Soon 
after the war, planting began in that state, and at present 
the supply of seed from the natural beds of the lower 
Chesapeake is barely sufficient for the needs of those 
there engaged in the industry. 

It is seldom possible for a legislative body deliberately 
to plan the organization and future development of an 
industry, and to formulate laws establishing the plan, 
before the industry exists. Such a feat was accom- 
plished with every prospect of success, by the legislature 
of Louisiana, when it formulated its present oyster laws. 
The result will be to avoid years of wasteful experiment 
and controversy and to add rapidly and permanently to 
the wealth of the state. 

But this was only possible because other states had 



Conditions in the Northern Field 191 

slowly and painfully solved the problems involved in 
modern oyster culture. It was necessary for New York 
and Connecticut to legislate and repeal and legislate 
again until their present wise and effective laws govern- 
ing the oyster industry had been developed. This, of 
necessity, was a matter of slow growth. Unforeseen ob- 
stacles continually arose. Interests clashed, and many 
difficulties had to be adjusted by the courts. New ques- 
tions arose with the development of the industry, and a 
wise general policy of legislation came only after a long 
course of demonstration and education. Not all that is. 
desirable has yet been gained, but a great and valuable 
source of wealth has been established. 

The interest of the outsider still centers about the state 
of Connecticut. From the beginning it has been the 
leader in accomplishment on the oyster field and in legis- 
lation. Neighboring states, and then those more distant, 
have followed its example. It has been necessary for 
them to do so in order to keep in the field. It may be 
observed that in Connecticut it has really been the indi- 
vidual culturist and not the state that has led in the won- 
derful development of the oyster industry. The culturist 
has demonstrated his needs and the state has wisely sup- 
plied them by legislation. On the other hand in Louisi- 
ana and more recently in Maryland, the state itself has 
become the leader; and this also is undoubtedly wise, for 
neither state contemplates ownership of the industry. 
The plan is simply to insure the success of private in- 
terests that may engage in it, and this, under the laws 
that have been formulated, seems to be assured. 

It may be interesting to contrast the old with the newer 
plan of state control over the oyster industry in Connec- 
ticut. There is still much to be learned, by states that 



192 Our Food MoUusks 

have not had the experience, from a history of the prog- 
ress that has been made in oyster legislation. 

Previous to the year 1880, a system of local control 
over Connecticut waters was in operation. The state 
relegated to the towns the disposal, under certain limita- 
tions, of shore privileges on their boundaries. The select- 
miCn, or an oyster committee in each town, were given the 
power to " designate " suitable places in the waters of 
the town for the planting or cultivation of oysters, clams, 
or mussels. But the holding of each person was not to 
exceed two acres. 

The plan was an utter failure from many causes. In 
the first place, no protection was afforded the culturist. 
Without it oyster culture is impossible. Planted oysters 
were stolen with perfect impunity because there were no 
laws punishing the act, which was everywhere regarded 
as a joke. The towns appointed no officers to protect 
leased bottoms. 

In the majority of cases the holdings were not even 
mapped, and titles to the land were very insecure. 
There were no hydrographic surveys. When boundary 
stakes were lost in storms or removed by ice, contentions 
among adjacent owners were inevitable, and no legal de- 
cisions of such quarrels were to be had. Non-residents 
were not permitted to lease bottoms. Quarrels over 
town boundaries arose, and the rulings of one town com- 
mittee were different from those of another. If, in spite 
of all these difficulties, one were willing to risk capital in 
an attempt at oyster culture, he was able to do nothing on 
two acres of bottom. The result was open and wholesale 
fraud in gaining control of other holdings than his own. 
Concerted action by culturists, necessary to establish and 
maintain a large market, or to protect the oyster terri- 



Conditions in the Northern Field 193 

tory from starfish and thieves, was impossible under the 
conditions imposed. Inadequate and absurd as this plan 
of local control now appears to have been, it was adopted 
by the majority of the states possessing oyster shores; 
and even to-day the same ancient and farcical laws pre- 
vent the establishment of a soft clam industry in New 
England. 

Since 1880 there has been a gradual change of plan in 
Connecticut, New York, and in other states, but the old 
method has not yet been entirely abandoned. Waters in 
the immediate vicinity of towns, on the shores of some 
states, are left in their care, though the powers of select- 
men and oyster committees are limited in such a way that 
local regulations must conform closely to the general plan 
governing all waters of the state. On application from 
the town, the Superior Court may appoint a cothmittee 
that shall locate natural beds, and the town may then 
grant perpetual franchises in barren bottoms to be used 
as oyster beds. A town is not allowed to grant oyster 
bottoms to its own residents alone. This feature of the 
system of control is cumbersome and unnecessary, and 
should be abandoned. But the state now maintains con- 
trol of the greater part of the oyster territory within its 
boundaries. While it has reserved six thousand acres of 
natural beds, the remainder of the bottom is held for 
sale. 

The real beginning of the present prosperity of the 
industry was inaugurated by an elaborate survey of the 
waters of the sound, based on the triangulations of the 
United States Coast Survey. Large maps, clearly de- 
fining all holdings, are published from time to time by 
a state Oyster Commission, and are available to any one 
desiring them. 



194 Our Food MoUusks 

That such a survey is a necessity does not yet seem to 
be reaHzed by some of the southern states. Without it 
an incontestible title is impossible, and in Connecticut 
it has put an end to a most fertile source of discontent 
and strife that arises everywhere when the sale or lease 
of bottoms is in question. There has been in every state 
a strong demand that the natural beds be reserved as 
public property. But what is a natural bed? The an- 
swer is clear when natural oysters lie thickly massed, 
but there are few such tracts. Such areas, once existing, 
have been tonged and dredged until oysters are few and 
scattered. Are they still natural beds? 

The definition of a Maryland judge has been accepted 
everywhere on the coast. According to this, a natural 
bed is a bottom on which oysters propagating by nature 
are numerous enough to afford a living wage to the oys- 
terman. This is arbitrary and indefinite, but it cannot 
be bettered. Its acceptance does not settle specific cases, 
for it does not and cannot determine what constitutes a 
living wage. The public is determined to retain its 
" rights " to natural beds, and culturists desire to buy or 
lease the bottoms. Who shall decide between them? 

In this matter the legislature of Connecticut did a 
very wise thing. It provided its Oyster Commission 
with a survey of the bottoms, and gave it power to de- 
cide, after a careful examination, wliat bottoms con- 
tained natural oysters sufficient for a daily wage, and 
what did not. This they did fairly, but of necessity, 
quite arbitrarily, defining and charting the outlines of all 
the natural beds in the state. They then proceeded to 
sell and lease the remainder. When their boundaries 
were contested, the State Supreme Court upheld them. 
That was the end of the matter. 



Conditions in the Northern Field 195 

Other states have followed the example of Con- 
necticut in this. Even Maryland has recently had the 
courage to do so, and if the decisions of its Oyster Com- 
missioners in establishing boundary lines are upheld by 
the state courts, much future trouble will be avoided. 

The amount of land that may be owned or leased by 
an individual or corporation in the state is now not lim- 
ited by law. The ancient fear of an oyster monopoly 
seems to have disappeared. Titles to 03'ster grounds 
may be transferred. If grounds are found by experi- 
ment to be unsuitable for oyster culture, they may be re- 
leased to the state. Speculating with oyster grounds is 
made illegal, and such a practice is difficult, for grounds 
not occupied in good faith for the planting or cultivation 
of oysters, may revert to the state at the end of five 
years. 

A perpetual franchise for the cultivation of oysters on 
barren ground may be had from the state at one dollar 
an acre. It has not been the plan in Connecticut to re- 
ceive a large revenue from the sale of land, but rather 
to vest the great wealth of the industry with the citizens. 
In this way taxable property on shore is greatly in- 
creased, and a small tax also is levied on the oyster beds. 
In order to determine the amount of this tax, owners 
must make an annual statement of the value of their 
property, and the Oyster Commissioners declare a tax of 
one and a half per cent, on the valuation given. Some 
revenue also is derived from licenses granted to boats 
which, with thirty-pound dredges and tongs, are allowed 
to take oysters from the natural beds. This direct rev- 
enue, however, amounts to comparatively little. The ac- 
cepted view of the situation seems to be that a five 
million dollar business in the state is a better investment 



196 Our Food Mollusks 

than a smaller one that would pay a larger direct tax for 
its existence. Rhode Island and some other states have 
adopted the latter plan. 

The market value of Connecticut oyster beds varies as 
real estate values do everywhere. The valuation prob- 
ably ranges from one to forty dollars an acre, and in a 
few cases is much greater. 

One of the most important features of the Connecticut 
law is the provision it makes for the protection of own- 
ers of private beds. A number of state police are em- 
ployed to protect private grounds, and are given the 
power of sheriffs in making arrests and seizures. 

The law also provides that sheriffs and constables, as 
well as oyster police, shall, and that any other person 
may, seize any boat or vessel illegally used in dredging, 
wherever found after the offense has been committed, 
within one year. If now such property is proved to 
have been used contrary to law, it is sold, and half the 
proceeds is paid to the person making the seizure. 

If every other state owning oyster grounds possessed 
such a law as that of Connecticut directed against oyster 
thieves, and would enforce it, that form of larceny, so 
exasperating in some localities, would be controlled. It 
provides a maximum fine of five hundred dollars, or im- 
prisonment for one year. American criminal proceed- 
ings are notoriously lax everywhere, and it is not sur- 
prising that arrested men are often discharged, and that 
others have their cases appealed ; but on the whole, prop- 
erty in Long Island Sound is as well protected as on the 
land. Fines and imprisonment are also provided as pen- 
alties for injuring oyster inclosures or buoys used in 
bounding them. 

The other states of the northern field possess oyster 



Conditions in the Northern Field 197 

laws that are, in many of their essential features, similar 
to these ; and though much revision may become neces- 
sary, it may be stated in a general way that the northern 
field has solved the legal problems involved in the in- 
dustry. 

It is interesting to observe that one very desirable 
provision is omitted from the oyster laws of all states in 
the Union having mollusk industries. It is one for the 
protection of the public against shell-fish contaminated by 
the germs of human diseases, and certainly one that 
should everywhere be demanded. While the laws of 
several states prohibit the discharge of sewage into fresh- 
water streams, none refer to the contamination of salt 
waters on their boundaries by this means. Neither is it 
illegal to offer for sale shell-fish taken from such waters. 
The danger, especially from typhoid fever, is great in 
such cases, and there is little excuse for this neglect. 

As one leaves the Connecticut shore at New Haven or 
Bridgeport, he may have the feeling that he is putting out 
to sea, for the sound is a large body of water. But soon 
he begins to notice that he is passing many odd-looking 
buoys. Before long it becomes evident that these are 
not stationed for the purpose of marking navigation 
channels, for they are too numerous, and as he looks 
about, he observes that the water is covered with them 
in every direction as far as the eye can reach. 

Almost all the way to New York the vessel plows 
along among cultivated fields, the presence of which 
w^ould be unknown except for these boundary marks. 
When their significance is understood, one soon obtains 
a definite impression of the great extent of the oyster 
farms that have been constructed in these waste places. 
It is difficult, however, to realize that here also, as on 



198 Our Food Mollusks 

the land, there has heen a preparation of the groiiiid, a 
sowing of seed, and a cultivation in preparation for a 
harvest. The impression is strong that there can be 
Httle depth of water over these farms, and that naviga- 
tion here by large steamers would be perilous, but the 
largest of vessels might pass safely over much of the 
field. 

Naturally, oyster farmers first chose their fields near 
the shore, where the majority of the natural beds had 
existed. When these were all occupied, they ventured 
farther into the sound. To-day one sees from the steam- 
er's deck that some of the oyster grounds have been ex- 
tended to the middle of the sound, or to the boundary 
line between Connecticut and New York. Some of these 
are more than six miles from shore. 

Perhaps the thing that most astonishes one is the in- 
formation he obtains concerning the depth of water over 
many of these cultivated acres. Only a few years ago, 
no one would have supposed it possible that oysters ever 
could be taken economically from a depth of more than 
seven or eight fathoms, yet to-day, in some places, they 
are planted in and readily removed from bottoms cov- 
ered by a hundred feet of water. Such a depth, it is 
true, is exceptionally great, but it is hardly less wonder- 
ful that a very large part of the planted area in the 
sound is seventy or eighty feet in depth. The great 
majority of the beds are under water from twenty to 
eighty feet. It may even be surprising to learn that the 
shore-loving, brackish water oyster can exist at all at so 
great a depth as a hundred feet. The fact, however, is 
that it has been taken from a natural " rock " in Dela- 
ware Bay at a depth of more than five hundred feet. 

The achievements of the deep-water culturist, that 



Conditions in the Northern Field 199 

seem not to be generally appreciated, are made possible 
by the recent development of mammoth steam dredging 
vessels. The finest of the fleet of the eighties, housed 
over, operating four steam dredges, and having a daily 
capacity of five hundred bushels, could almost be carried 
on the deck of some of the vessels now owned by the 
same company. Figure ^y gives a view of one of these 
powerful ice-breaking boats. It steams out regularly 
to distant farms, perhaps in Narragansett Bay or eastern 
Long Island, where its owner has leased bottoms, and 
neither weather nor ice fields seriously interfere. In one 
day it is able to dredge eight thousand five hundred bush- 
els of oysters in forty feet of water, and during the next 
it can, from the most distant point, deliver the cargo at 
its owner's packing establishment at New Haven. 

One may imagine the nature of the protest that would 
come from the Chesapeake oysterman if a few vessels 
of this sort were suddenly to appear on his own oyster 
territory. He would expect his Maryland rocks to melt 
like snow in April, and his expectation would be realized. 
Yet he boasts that the immense reaches of Chesapeake 
Bay comprise the greatest oyster field in the world ; 
and undoubtedly he is right. How, then, is it possible 
for vessels of this sort to operate in so small a body as 
Long Island Sound, where natural conditions for oyster 
growth are so much less favorable, without destroying 
the industry? Here they are busily occupied from fall 
until summer in taking immense cargoes from the bot- 
tom, and yet the industry actually increases from year to 
year. This forest of buoys explains the matter, for 
among them during the remainder of the year these ves- 
sels and many smaller ones are engaged in sowing a 
distant harvest. The future will perhaps see a similar 



200 Our Food Mollusks 

fleet in the Chesapeake that will bear to market cargoes 
of which the oystermen of the present do not dream. 

One notices, on passing up and down the sound, that 
oyster beds are more numerous at its western end. East- 
ward there are not so many planted areas, though in time, 
trial may prove much of this barren region to be suitable 
for oyster culture. One to whom figures have some sig- 
nificance would be interested to know that besides the 
shore, which is still under the jurisdiction of the towns, 
there are seventy thousand acres of bottom under cultiva- 
tion in Connecticut, and that in order to carry on the 
work, there is employed a fleet of more than one hun- 
dred steam vessels, aided by nearly four hundred sailing 
craft. 

In New York, including Long Island, the cultivated 
area is nearly half that of Connecticut, and there are still 
large barren tracts that may prove to be of value to 
oyster culture. Here, as in Connecticut, most of the bot- 
toms are owned by individuals or companies. 

Parts of Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island, have 
long proved to be valuable planting grounds, and there 
all bottoms are rented by the state. Bottoms less than 
twelve feet in depth are reserved for residents only at an 
annual rental of ten dollars. Deeper bottoms are rented 
for five dollars to non-residents, as well as to residents, of 
the state. By this plan, thirteen thousand acres now 
bring an annual revenue of ninety thousand dollars to 
the state treasury. 

While in each of these states the cultivated area will 
be enlarged, no one can estimate its possible future ex- 
tent within narrow limits; but at the present rate of ex- 
pansion, these limits, whatever they may be, will soon be 
reached. 



Conditions in the Northern Field 201 

An important question arises in the mind as one views 
the field of this industry that has become so extensive. 
Are these cultivated acres owned by many as on the land ? 
or have the smaller holdings been merged into large ones? 
Is the business of such a nature that the modern in- 
dustrial method of combination may be profitable to it? 
A citizen of Maryland or Louisiana, where the fear of 
an oyster monopoly has been a consuming one, might 
be interested in the answer. 

There has been a merging of holdings, and on a large 
scale, over the entire northern field. In Connecticut, for 
example, 338 persons owned 68,000 acres of oyster land 
outside the town districts in 1893. Eleven years later, 
in 1904, the area had decreased somewhat, being 66,000 
acres. It was owned by 180 individuals and companies. 
The number of owners had thus decreased nearly one- 
half. It is now somewhat smaller than in 1904, and 
the number of acres is larger. Some of these companies 
hold very large tracts, owning and leasing bottoms in 
more than one state. One, for example, controls 13,000 
acres in Connecticut, 5,000 in New York, and more than 
4,000 in Rhode Island — a total of more than 22,000 
acres. This being true, it may appear that the northern 
oyster field is perhaps already in the hands of a few 
great corporations, and that the poor man can have little 
part in the industry except as an employee. 

But this is not the whole truth. There is another fact 
that completely reverses such a conclusion. Not only 
are there a great number of small holdings within the 
limits of towns, but even in the sound, more than one- 
sixth of the holdings are of less than fifteen acres — some 
of them but two or three acres — and they are owned and 
planted by " the poor man," who conducts his business 



202 Our Food MoUusks 

in perfect independence and security by the side of his 
powerful neighbor. If he is thrifty and understands his 
business, he makes it a success. He does not owe his ex- 
istence as a small culturist to the benevolence of the large 
corporation, but to wise laws, and to the nature of the 
industry itself, which is so extensive on the Atlantic and 
Gulf coasts that a crushing oyster monopoly is an im- 
possibility, and probably always will be. 

When, from personal observation, one has gained 
some conception of the great extent of the cultivated 
areas in the northern field, he is lost in wonder that seed 
could be found sufficient for its sowing. But it must be 
remembered that three, four, and sometimes five years 
are necessary for the maturing of the crop, so that it is 
not necessary to seed the entire area each year. The 
method of capturing the spat has already been described. 
A large corporation may secure its young oysters both on 
its deep water farms and on its property near shore, but 
most of it is taken on the comparatively shallow areas. 

While Connecticut culturists have heretofore supplied 
almost the entire field, Rhode Island planters are now 
beginning to discover that, even with the high rental they 
must pay, the planting of shells for a set of young is 
profitable. Since 1903 seed collecting has become an 
important factor of the industry in Narragansett Bay. 

Thus the sound and the bays in the northern field have 
become centers of great activity. During the summer 
large fleets are engaged in the planting of breeding 
oysters and shells or crushed rock for the collection of 
spat, in cleaning bottoms or hardening them with sand 
and gravel, in dredging, culling, and transplanting oysters 
to growing or conditioning grounds, and in dragging 
mops for the capture of starfish. In the winter all are 



Conditions in the Northern Field 203 

busy in dredging and carrying oysters to the shucking 
houses and shipping centers. 

There are several large markets and distributing cen- 
ters in the northern field. Chief among these are New 
Haven and New York. In the former city are the 
establishments of fifty dealers, who together own thirty 
thousand acres of planted ground in the state of Con- 
necticut, and control an area equally great in Rhode 
Island and New York. 

Many oysters fresh from the water are shipped un- 
opened to nearly all parts of the United States. The 
greater number are opened at the packing houses. Some 
of the larger companies are able to ship nearly a thou- 
sand gallons of '' meats " in a day. These are washed, 
cooled, and sent out in barrels or tubs in a perfectly 
fresh condition. 

Packers have learned that their business depends 
largely on extreme cleanliness. Dirty receptacles used 
in preparing or shipping oysters make certain their 
early loss. Consequently barrels, tubs, or pails returned 
to the dealers are most thoroughly cleaned and coated 
inside with a water-proof preparation that of itself does 
much to insure cleanliness. 

New York City, also, is a large distributing point, 
and the West Washington market, on the Hudson River, 
has become its center. It is thus described by one of the 
state Oyster Commissioners: — "On the river side of 
the market there is an enclosed basin where boats may 
be secure while unloading their cargoes of shell-fish. 
The unique and commodious house-boats which are 
moored to the docks are picturesque objects, quite 
familiar to residents of the city. These barges are really 
two-story houses, built upon scows or floats with ex- 



204 Ou^ Food Mollusks 

tensive expanses of floors or decks upon which large 
quantities of stock may be stored, assorted, opened, and 
shipped. The ends of these houses fronting the street 
may properly, perhaps, be called bows, and are con- 
structed with more or less attention to architectural ef- 
fect, so that the facades are not unattractive. Upon the 
top, or cornice, of each boat, usually extending across 
the entire front of the structure, is the sign of the firm 
doing business within. These boats are fixed with more 
or less permanency in their berths, and have every ap- 
pearance of busy establishments of trade. They rise 
and fall with the tides, which keep them on a level cor- 
responding with that of the decks of the boats of the 
oyster-carrying fleet, thus facilitating the loading and 
unloading of stock. These houses may be moved from 
place to place, when necessary, by tow boats." 

Philadelphia, being situated on the Delaware River, 
is the chief market for the product of Delaware Bay. 
Many of the oysters from the New Jersey bays are sent 
to New York. 

In New Jersey there are three separate oyster regions 
The most northern, Raritan Bay, is really a part of New 
York Bay, and the industry there is much like that of 
other parts of that body of water. On the ocean side of 
the state, Barnegat Bay lies parallel with the shore like a 
river separated from the open water only by a low ridge 
of sand. Its waters are brackish, and support a large 
number of oyster beds. The third oyster district is the 
eastern shore of Delaware Bay. This body of water, 
some thirty miles wide at its lower end, has always pro- 
duced many oysters, and planted beds may be found cov- 
ering large areas both on the New Jersey and Delaware 
shores. 



Conditions in the Northern Field 205 

Seed for these beds was formerly brought from the 
Chesapeake, but in recent years, oystermen have fol- 
lowed the example of Connecticut culturists, and now 
produce much of their own stock for planting. Some 
planters, however, still depend largely on the natural beds 
for their supply. 

Thus during the past few years a great industry has 
been developed on the barren bottoms of these northern 
bays. Each year it contributes many millions of dol- 
lars to the wealth of the states that have fostered it. 
But its benefits are not confined to one region. Its meth- 
ods, and the vexed experiences of its development may 
be avoided in other regions where an industry has yet to 
be established. The more serious problems have been 
solved by the northern culturist. 




CHAPTER XIV 
THE CHESAPEAKE 

[VERY one is familiar with the frequently re- 
peated statement that Chesapeake Bay is the 
most extensive and prolific oyster territory 
in the world. The statement is undoubtedly 
true. When one compares it with the northern field, 
the marvel of its natural fertility is astonishing. The 
colonists of New Amsterdam left many enthusiastic ac- 
counts of vast stores of " brave oysters " that Providence 
had provided for them in their new home. " The oyster 
bankes," it was written by a New England colonist, " do 
bar re out the bigger ships." And yet even in early 
colonial times, these natural beds became so im- 
poverished that laws were formulated to prevent 
their entire annihilation. In the beginning, oysters 
became an important article of food of the inhabitants of 
Maryland and Virginia also. As population increased, 
greater and still greater numbers were removed from 
the waters of the Chesapeake. Inland towns began to 
be supplied. Oysters were transported by wagon, as 
roads extended into the interior. Finally, when rail- 
roads began to lead northward, and westward across 
the Alleghany Mountains, the ever increasing supply of 
oysters found a market in the rapidly growing territory 
far from the coast. Decade after decade passed, millions 
of bushels finally being marketed every year, and now, 

206 



The Chesapeake 



207 




after almost three centuries of tonging and scraping and 
dredging, the wonderful natural beds of the Chesapeake, 
though sadly depleted, still exist, and still supply the 
greater number of the oysters marketed from the bay. 

Lying within the boundaries of Maryland and Vir- 
ginia, the Chesapeake has a length of nearly two hun- 
dred miles. In Maryland it is, roughly, from five to 



2o8 Our Food Mollusks 

ten miles wide, and, in Virginia, its shores are from fif- 
teen to thirty miles apart. The shore line is everywhere 
very irregular, with extensive bays, and entering from 
the west are wide rivers like the Patuxent, Potomac, Rap- 
phannock, and James, the mouths of which are brackish 
water estuaries, most favorable for oyster growth. 

In no body of water would necessary conditions for 
oyster growth be present everywhere on the bottom. It 
has already been shown that the requirements are many 
and exact. Even the most skilful culturist cannot make 
it possible for oysters to grow everywhere in the Chesa- 
peake; but the relative amount of favorable bottom as 
compared with that of other oyster fields, where oyster 
culture has been practised, is very large. If intensive 
and scientific oyster culture were employed here, as it is 
in Long Island Sound, the result would astonish the 
world. 

Only a very fragmentary record of the early industry 
in this bay has been kept. The importance of so great 
a natural source of wealth has been recognized, and the 
legislative bodies of Maryland and Virginia have formu- 
lated and revised numerous oyster laws; but until com- 
paratively recent times, it has apparently been deemed 
unnecessary to record information on any phase of the 
business. Indeed, no one seems to have been particularly 
interested in the biological conditions in the bay, or in 
more than his own part in the industry. 

Following the method of the archeologist, which is al- 
most the only one available for gaining information on 
the industry before the middle of the nineteenth century, 
we are able to obtain a vague idea of the proportions of 
the oyster trade in the indefinite past from the fact that 
accumulated shells were used at an early period not only 



The Chesapeake 209 

in supplying- lime for building and for the construction of 
beautiful shell roads, but, in some cases, to build the very 
foundations of towns from the bottom of the bay. 

It is true that Maryland, in 1882, appointed a com- 
mission to incjuire into the condition of the industry in 
her waters — providing it with no means for making a 
survey, and paying no attention whatever to the valuable 
report returned by it. Since that period the main facts 
concerning the industry have been recorded. 

During the first quarter of the last century there seems 
to have been a brisk local trade in the opening and sale 
of oysters in cities and towns near the bay. But in this 
early time began the shipping of oysters to the northern 
field for planting and for opening. It has already been 
stated that this trade increased in magnitude until 
checked by the Civil War. Out of it grew the present 
packing business of the Chesapeake, and in the follow- 
ing manner : — A few far-seeing and energetic oyster 
culturists of Connecticut, recognizing the great natural 
resources of the bay, and the possibilities of a market 
with Baltimore as a center, established branch packing 
h-ouses in that city in 1834. These pioneers of the mod- 
ern business, with characteristic energy, began to estab- 
lish wagon lines for the distribution of their product, 
extending them as far west as Pittsburgh. With the 
construction of the Baltimore and Ohio, and other rail- 
roads, this distribution was enormously facilitated, 
oysters were plentiful, and these firms conducted a great 
business. 

Writing of the establishment of the first packing 
houses, Mr. Ingersoll, who had collected all available 
data for his census report of 1880, continues: — "A few 
years later, Mr. A. Field, also a native of Connecticut, 



210 Our Food Mollusks 

began to sell oysters, which he first steamed and then 
hermetically sealed in tin cans. This preparation was 
received with favor, and the new trade grew very rap- 
idly. Records furnished by C. S. Maltby inform ns 
that in 1865 1,875,000 bushels of oysters were packed 
raw in Baltimore, and 1,360,000 bushels were preserved. 
In 1869 he numbers in Maryland 55 packers, w^io, at 500 
to 2,500 cans per day, put up 12,000,000 to 15,000,000 
cans in a season of seven months, using 5,000,000 bush- 
els. Sixty ' raw ' houses that year employed 3,000 
hands, while the packers gave employment to 7,000 per- 
sons. Large quantities of canned oysters were annually 
sent, at that time, by steamship to Havana." 

Mr. Richard Edmonds, describing the industry of the 
same period, wrote in regard to it : — " The raw-oyster 
business has always been more profitable and less subject 
to the vicissitudes of trade, although there are many 
losses from spoilt oysters when the weather happens to 
turn suddenly warm. Raw oysters, after being opened, 
are packed in small, air-tight cans holding about a quart, 
and these are arranged in rows in a long wooden box, 
with a block of ice between each row, or they are emptied 
into a keg, half-barrel, or barrel made for this purpose. 
When the latter plan is pursued, the keg or barrel is filled 
to about five-sixths of its capacity, and then a large piece 
of ice is thrown in, after which the top is fastened on as 
closely as possible, and it is at once shipped to the West, 
usually by special oyster trains or by express. Packed 
in this way, with moderately cold weather, the oysters 
will keep very well for a week or ten days. During the 
most active part of the ' raw ' season, there are daily 
oyster trains of from thirty to forty cars from Baltimore 
to the West, where nearly all the Baltimore oysters are 



The Chesapeake 2ii 

consumed. From the shores of the Chesapeake Bay as 
far as Detroit there is scarcely a city or town (connected 
with any of the great trunk hues) which is not supphed 
with Maryland raw oysters. Farther west, and to a 
considerable extent in European countries, the demand 
is supplied by steamed oysters. The oysters used in the 
raw trade are of a finer quality, and consequently com- 
mand better prices than steamed." 

When this was written, there were forty-five packing 
houses in the city of Baltimore. During the winter of 
1879-80, these firms marketed more than seven million 
bushels of oysters, the production of other firms in the 
state raising the total to ten million bushels. 

The packing business of Virginia began very much 
later than that of Maryland. It was not until 1859 that 
an establishment was founded in the city of Norfolk. 
The time and place, however, were unfortunate for the 
new venture, for shortly the war began that paralyzed 
every industry, transformed a garden state into a wilder- 
ness, and covered its waters with hostile fleets. 

No one but a Virginian knows how the state suffered 
in that conflict, though it is mournful enough to an out- 
sider even to-day to see so much of its formerly fertile 
interior grown over with jack pine and broom straw, 
worn out because of the poverty of its owners, or gullied 
beyond repair. But one very important source of rev- 
enue remained after the conflict. The natural oyster 
beds that had for many years suffered from excessive 
tonging, had been resting for four years, and were now 
densely packed. Prices were high, and a great many per- 
sons now engaged in the tonging of oysters. 

Immediately on the cessation of hostilities, packing 
houses began operations in Norfolk, and the industry in- 



212 Our Food Mollusks 

creased for several years. Very few oysters have ever 
been canned in Virginia. The early trade, like that of 
to-day, was largely in opened oysters that were sent 
north in a fresh condition, where they were usually sold 
as northern stock. In 1880 the state produced nearly 
seven million bushels, and more than sixteen thousand 
persons were engaged in the industry. 

There seem to be no definite data bearing on the pro- 
duction of the entire bay before the year 1880. The 
notes of one Baltimore packer estimate the total produc- 
tion of the bay at 6,944,500 bushels in 1865, of which 
Maryland produced 4,879,500, and Virginia 2,065,000 
bushels. It is stated by Professor Brooks that in 1875 
the bay produced 17,000,000 bushels. The census esti- 
mate for 1880 was slightly more than that. Professor 
Brooks believed that the average for fifty-six years fol- 
lowing the establishment of the packing industry in Bal- 
timore, was at least 7,000,000 bushels a year, or, during 
the period of little more than half a century, a total of 
392,000,000 bushels. This is an enormous production, 
and all the more wonderful because the greater part of 
it was from natural beds. 

But high tide in the Chesapeake industry was reached 
soon after the formulation of the tenth census estimate 
in 1880. On account of the continued fertility of the 
waters decade after decade, the inhabitants of Maryland 
and Virginia seemed to have become convinced that they 
were inexhaustible. Some, however, were able to see 
that a continuation of dredging, as it had always been 
carried on, would eventually bring destruction to the 
natural beds. Influenced by those who had this belief, 
the Governor of Maryland in 1882 requested the late 
Professor W. K. Brooks of Johns Hopkins University 



The Chesapeake 213 

in Baltimore, a naturalist of world-wide reputation, to 
accept the position of chairman of a commission to ex- 
amine and report on the condition of the natural beds in 
the Chesapeake, and to suggest measures needed for their 
protection or improvement. Professor Brooks had al- 
ready, in 1878, completed an important biological study 
of the American oyster. By a long-continued observa- 
tion of the animal in its natural state, he had become 
thoroughly acquainted with its needs and with the nature 
of its surroundings. No other person was so well fitted 
for the task, which he accepted, and for which the uni- 
versity gave him leave of absence. 

In 1884 he published an exhaustive report, in which 
he showed that, with the methods then employed in gath- 
ering oysters, the Chesapeake industry must decline, and 
eventually cease to exist. He used the historical and 
biological arguments with such skill and force that it 
seems impossible that an intelligent person could have 
followed them without conviction. The report attracted 
the most respectful attention of many citizens, but had 
no effect on those directly engaged in the industry, and 
they held the balance of political power in Maryland. 

In 1 89 1 Professor Brooks published an interesting 
and less technical account of the natural resources of 
Chesapeake Bay in a book that deserved wide popular in- 
terest. Even at that time nothing had been done in 
Maryland to promote oyster culture, and the natural re- 
sources were very rapidly declining. Fifteen years more 
passed before the state saw that the vast wealth of its 
waters had dwindled dangerously near to the vanishing- 
point. Then, nearly a quarter of a century after this 
condition had been shown to be inevitable, it was com- 
pelled to listen to reason, and, in 1906, made an attempt 



214 Our Food Mollusks 

— not a thorough-going one, by any means — at reform. 
" A prophet is not without honor, but in his own coun- 
try, and among his own kin, and in his own house." 

The record of the dechne in the Chesapeake since 1885 
is very incomplete, but that kept by the transportation 
companies and the packing houses of Bahimore indicates 
its nature. During the season of 1885-6 more than three 
and a half million bushels of oysters were shucked in the 
city of Baltimore. In 1889-90 the number had fallen 
below two and a half millions. In 1893-4 it had de- 
clined to a little more than one and a half millions. For 
the next four years it remained nearly the same, and 
hopes began to be entertained that the low mark had been 
reached, and that the natural beds of the Chesapeake 
would continue to yield a harvest of at least that amount. 
But in 1 899- 1 900 the supply hardly exceeded a million 
bushels, and the following season fell below the million 
mark. Since then the same steady decrease has been 
maintained, if more slowly, yet none the less certainly. 

This falling off in the business of the packers was not 
due to any increase in what is called the shell trade, 
or to the establishment of new packing houses elsewhere, 
but simply to the fact that the natural supply of the bay 
vvas nearly exhausted. It was stated by the railroad 
companies that during the decade between 1890 and 
1900, the shipments of oysters in the shell had decreased 
three-fourths in volume. 

But the decline was even more rapid than indicated by 
these figures, for in 1889 the Baltimore packers began 
to send dredging vessels down the coast to Pamlico 
Sound in North Carolina, where they taught the un- 
sophisticated native oystermen something about the 
dredging of oysters, and incidentally nearly ruined the 



The Chesapeake 215 

natural resources of the sound in short order. Oysters 
dredged there were all taken to the packing houses in 
Baltimore, where they were shucked, sold, and 
counted in the fragmentary records of the business as 
Chesapeake oysters. Thus the prophecy of the commis- 
sion of 1882 was fulfilled. Its report was not merely a 
warning. It showed the decline in the great industry to 
be unnecessary. It explained the simple course to be 
pursued that would increase the production of oysters to 
a vast extent ; and there is even more reason to-day than 
there was in 1884 for the belief that every prediction of 
vast success and fortune contained in it might by this 
time have been realized by the state of Maryland had 
it chosen to develop a thorough-going system of oyster 
culture. 

The history of the industry in Virginia's part of the 
bay is not so depressing. Much of the bottom is shal- 
low, and is worked by tongers. In 1879 dredging on 
natural oyster rocks was prohibited, though allowed on 
private grounds. But in spite of the fact that only tongs 
were employed, the natural beds rapidly became depleted. 
At this time planting was allowed by the state, but few 
availed themselves of the privilege. Naturally, planting 
could not well flourish when there was great doubt as to 
the limits of natural rocks as distinguished from barren 
bottoms. Planting had also been allowed in Maryland 
for many years, but very few had dared to invest labor 
and money in it. 

In 1892 a survey of the natural oyster beds was made 
in Virginia. These were staked out, and though their 
boundary marks have long since disappeared, the good 
effects of that designation have been felt ever since. If 
a triangulation survey of the barren bottoms had been 



2i6 Our Food Mollusks 

made at the same time, a much greater stride in advance 
would have been taken. 

Maryland was still the proud leader of all the oyster 
producing states in 1891. Ten years later she had re- 
linquished this position to Virginia, from which were 
marketed nearly eight million bushels in 190 1. Of these 
more than three million bushels came from private beds. 
The Virginia oyster planter still has his serious troubles, 
but the practice of planting has become so extensive 
that the market does not depend entirely on the natural 
rocks, and hence possesses much stability. 

Of late years it has everywhere become the habit to 
refer to the upper Chesapeake as the dead goose that 
laid the golden eggs. When modern oyster laws are be- 
ing demanded in other states, Maryland is exhibited as 
the horrible example of the effects of faulty legislation 
on the oyster industry. Her natural resources have 
largely been wasted, and almost perfect lawlessness has 
been tolerated on the bay. 

No one has ever supposed that the people of Mary- 
land were peculiarly indifferent to the destruction of the 
natural treasures buried in her bay. They have known 
what they were losing, and why, but, like the American 
public everywhere, they were long-suffering in patience. 
An American from any other part of the country knows 
without being told that such a state of affairs is probably 
to be explained by what was the fact in this case — that 
the Maryland oyster had been deeply involved in politics. 

When a sufficient number of persons become interested 
in the lumbering of pine, spruce, or fir, these become fac- 
tors in state or even national politics. The same is true 
of such sources of natural wealth as metals, coal, petro- 
leum, 'and many others. This happens because those 



The Chesapeake 217 

who are most directly interested desire all that may be 
obtained, and in getting what they can as rapidly as pos- 
sible, usually waste much more than they get. They 
resent public interference, and, when necessary, pur- 
chase immunity in one way or another of political ma- 
chines — an old story the world over. 

The oyster industry has been of the greatest im- 
portance to Maryland and Virginia. It supports thou- 
sands of shuckers, tongers, and dredgers. The business 
of the oyster dredger is to get oysters where they grow, 
and he has always attended to it — as one writer has put 
it, " regarding neither the laws of God or man." All 
that he has ever desired from the public is to be let alone. 
The tonger, for whom certain shallow waters have been 
reserved, has asked nothing more. Each of these has 
often maintained his " natural rights " against the other 
by means of rifles, and both have taught the oyster 
planter, whose unnatural business, it has seemed to them, 
might glut their markets, and whose unholy purpose has 
apparently been to take the bread out of the mouths of 
the honest poor, that Maryland, at least, was no place for 
him. 

The " rights " of these men have been looked after in 
state legislatures by those whom they have sent by their 
votes, and restrictive laws have seldom been passed. 
Some years ago the statement was made in a government 
document that one candidate for the Virginia legislature 
promised the oystermen that, if elected, he would defend 
any of them in the courts free of charge should they 
transgress any of the state oyster laws; and every one 
has always believed the situation to have been worse in 
Maryland than in Virginia. 

Until 1906 the oyster laws of Maryland aimed at little 



2i8 Our Food Mollusks 

but the prevention of quarrels between tongers and 
dredgers, and the collection of revenue by means of 
licenses. To enforce the laws, it has been necessary to 
support an " oyster navy." The plan of collecting a 
revenue has always been a favorite one. Just previous 
to the passage of the new oyster laws, the state was able 
to collect about forty thousand dollars — at an expense of 
more than sixty thousand. The revenue plan has usually 
operated in this way in Maryland. A law to compel 
culling on the beds where oysters were dredged has been 
on the statute books for years, but it has been observed 
only when convenient. In short, such oyster laws as 
Maryland has possessed, have rarely been enforced. It 
must be said, however, that on so extensive an area as 
the Chesapeake, where public sentiment was overwhelm- 
ingly against existing laws, their enforcement was prac- 
tically impossible. It is an interesting problem whether 
the provisions of the new statutes can be enforced more 
successfully than were the old. 

Many hard things, to be found in newspaper files, 
magazines, and government reports, have been written by 
citizens of Maryland and Virginia concerning the oyster 
pirates of the Chesapeake, especially of their almost in- 
credible lawlessness and cruelty, and hard as these state- 
ments are, those who have been at all familiar with the 
conditions in the bay in former times, will probably 
agree with the statement of Mr. Ingersoll, who in- 
vestigated the oyster industry previous to 1880, that he 
believed them to be just. 

Other states, in past decades, have tolerated politics as 
bad as those of Maryland. There are still localities 
where even dynamite and the sawed-off shotgun may be 
used against life with comparative impunity; but the 



The Chesapeake 219 

social conditions that obtained on the Chesapeake for 
many years were so unique that one is quite at a loss to 
understand how they could have escaped the attention of 
the modern magazine story writer. During the quarter 
of a century or more since the grim and grizzled pioneer 
and the polite but dreadful cowboy, with his " six- 
shooter," have become extinct, they have been celebrated 
as typical western characters in a deluge of magazine 
literature by eastern writers, and the flood continues un- 
abated to this day. The equally picturesque bad man in 
their midst has entirely escaped attention, perhaps be- 
cause he has so recently been with them. It remains for 
some Pacific coast writer, who has never crossed the 
Coast Range, to exploit the wild oyster pirate of the 
Chesapeake. There will be color for his tale in the facts 
when he obtains them, and fiction will not be necessary. 

It has been stated that shallow waters along the shore 
lines have long been set apart by law for tonging, while 
it is intended that dredging shall be carried on elsewhere 
in deeper water. While tonging is slow work that can 
only be carried on in good weather, thousands of men 
have been engaged in it. 

One of the functions of the state police is to prevent 
dredging on the tonging grounds, but the bay is so ex- 
tensive that a very large force would be required to ac- 
complish it. With the pirates banded together for 
m.utual protection, and especially under the cloak of 
night, tonging grounds may be dredged with safety and 
profit when they yield more than those in deeper water. 

Night dredging on forbidden grounds has not always 
been necessary. We are told, for example, that during 
the winter of 1879-80 a large fleet of dredgers entered 
the Rappahannock River in Virginia, and began opera- 



220 Our Food MoUusks 

tions on the toiiging grounds. Incensed at this act, the 
tongers made an attempt to drive them off, but the 
dredgers were well armed and able rapidly to concentrate 
forces when necessary. The scattered small boats of the 
tongers were driven to cover, and for weeks obliged to 
keep at a respectful distance. The Virginia legislature 
being in session, voted to supply the shore men with a 
cannon and small arms, but before these arrived, dredg- 
ing operations had been completed, and the pirate fleet 
had sailed away. 

Tongers have always been practically helpless against 
these raiders, but the greatest sufferers have been the few 
bold men who have attempted to plant oysters on leased 
bottoms in Maryland, or in Virginia, near the Maryland 
line. Professor Brooks records the experience of a Vir- 
ginia culturist who had incautiously leased about seventy 
acres a short distance from Maryland waters. At the 
expense of more than four thousand dollars, he had 
shelled the bottom, obtained a large set of young oysters, 
and had employed watchmen during their growth. Two 
years after the bottom was shelled, the crop was 
estimated at three hundred and fifty thousand bushels, 
and valued at more than one hundred and twenty thou- 
sand dollars. The dredgers were perfectly willing to 
witness this wonderful demonstration of the fertility of 
the bay under oyster culture. It proved to be a fine har- 
vest for them. There were no inter-state complications, 
like the threatened warfare between Louisiana and Mis- 
sissippi some years ago over a trespass on oyster ground, 
and there was no redress. The culturist lost a fortune, 
and that was the end of the matter. 

It is interesting to notice who these buccaneers and 
their crews were, and what were their relations to civ- 



The Chesapeake 221 

ilized society. In the denunciatory accounts of them by 
their fellow citizens, that one may hnd, not all vessel 
owners were attacked. They seemed to have had knowl- 
edge only of the number of trips made by their cap- 
tains. Some of the captains also are said to have been 
honest and law-abiding, " but it is an unfortunate fact," 
we read, " that such form a very small minority." 

It may be gathered from the reports, that captains of 
dredging vessels were forced by the demands of vessel 
owners to disregard the oyster laws. They were re- 
quired to deliver oysters within a limited time. That 
meant that they must take them from the most con- 
venient localities, and that they must dredge day or night 
in all kinds of weather. It meant that crews were to 
be dri\^en without mercy, and that no one should be al- 
lowed to have any rights in the bay. Such a system re- 
sulted in the selection of as merciless a band of pirates to 
captain most of the vessels of the oyster fleet, as ever 
ruled a deck on the high seas. 

The cruel treatment of crews on these vessels has al- 
ways been a frequent subject of comment, and yet there 
were ways of getting them together. In the majority of 
cases, when a ship-owner or a captain desired a crew of 
seven or eight men, he simply placed an order for them 
with a shipping agent. This person, on making a round 
of the saloons and dives near the " basin " in Baltimore, 
was usually able to round up a sufficient number of men, 
often irresponsible from drink, and these he delivered 
on deck at about two dollars a head. The only qualifica- 
tion in the acceptance of a hand was evident muscular 
ability — when muscles should be under control — to turn 
the crank of a windlass. Crews of this sort — vagrants, 
thieves, and murderers — declared in an account by a na- 



222 Our Food MoUusks 

tive of the Chesapeake shore to be '' one of the most de- 
praved bodies of workmen to be found in the country," 
made good men for the work in hand. 

But the worst feature of the fearful business was the 
virtual kidnapping of newly arrived and ignorant for- 
eigners for this killing work. Shipping agents were al- 
lowed to meet the immigrants in New York and Phila- 
delphia, and, with promises of pleasant and remunerative 
empJoyment, lured them to Baltimore in large numbers, 
and delivered them to dredging captains. There they 
entered into an abject slavery, from which it was not pos- 
sible to escape, at least until the end of the voyage. The 
work was cruelly hard, being chiefly at the windlasses 
used in drawing the heavy dredges, and in culling the 
loads that were dumped on deck. Winter on the Chesa- 
peake is cold and stormy, and the men were compelled to 
work on an icy deck that was entirely exposed to wind 
and spray. In 1880 the average pay for this was said 
to be about eleven dollars a month. 

Along the shore one hears many gruesome tales of 
mysterious disappearances, and even of open murders 
of members of these crews. Stories are told of unspeak- 
able cruelties on board the vessels, and of the maroonings 
of entire crews on isolated shores, perhaps to save the 
amount due in wages. That such barbarities were prac- 
tised on the bay probably few good citizens of Maryland 
doubt, and yet complaints have been rare and redresses 
still less numerous. Without doubt there were some 
humane captains among the Baltimore dredgers, and 
many such in the lower part of the state ; but the opinion 
of those best acquainted with the conditions seems to be 
that, as a class, they have established a record of crime 
and cruelty that has rarely been equaled in this country. 



The Chesapeake 223 

Conditions governing the oyster industry in Virginia 
and Maryland are in a state of transition from depend- 
ence on the wild crop to oyster culture. A great and 
radical change is contemplated in the latter state, while 
the former is slowly continuing progress inaugurated 
years ago. 

There are se\'eral reasons for the slow progress of 
oyster culture in Virginia. The industry has reached that 
stage where its natural beds are as much a curse as a 
blessing. According to the Baylor survey of 1892, these 
beds covered an area of two hundred and twenty-six 
thousand acres. These have dwindled to small propor- 
tions; their size cannot be accurately estimated. Over 
large areas oysters are scattered, and many of the orig- 
inal rocks are now quite barren. Yet nearly every one 
clings desperately to the idea that the future industry de- 
pends on their preservation as natural beds. 

The result is that all the energies of the state are ex- 
pended on policing this territory — in an attempt to en- 
force the close-season, and to prevent the sale of small 
oysters by tongers to planters — instead of affording some 
protection to the oyster culturist, who is making a seri- 
ous efifort to succeed. As it is, the oyster " navy " is too 
small to enforce the laws on a quarter of the public ter- 
ritory alone. 

Another reason for slow development is the absence 
of a triangulation survey of barren bottoms available for 
oyster culture, and the consequent insecurity of title. The 
oyster laws are so confused and so conflicting, contain 
so many exceptions and special and local provisions, that 
no one has a definite idea of his rights. 

The state is committed to the plan of raising the great- 
est possible direct revenue from the Industry, and gives 



224 Our Food Mollusks 

practically no return of any sort. This will prove to be 
a short-sighted policy. 

The fear of an oyster monopoly is very general and 
very acute. Not enough bottom is leased to one in- 
dividual to invite extensive oyster culture, and non- 
resident capital is not allowed to develop any of the ex- 
tensive and barren areas in the bay. All of the oyster 
producing states have at some time placed this prohibi- 
tion on the oyster industry — but never on one conducted 
on dry land. It would be interesting to know what is 
the economic principle involved in the discrimination. 

While there is a considerable area covered by planted 
oysters in Virginia, the chief source of supply is still the 
natural rocks or beds. Planting is not at present- in- 
creasing, and partly for the reason that the business of 
rearing seed for sale has not yet been established. Plant- 
ing in the deeper parts of the bay has not yet been given 
a fair trial. True oyster culture — the capture of the 
young on collectors and its rearing for market — has been 
tried, and with success, but is not yet extensively prac- 
tised. 

Criticisms of the Virginia industry should lead no 
one to be pessimistic concerning it. In actual production 
the state is one of the great leaders. Large and flourish- 
ing packing houses are numerous, and some of the 
brands marketed by them are of the greatest excellence. 

Methods of state control, that change only with the 
gradual modification of public opinion, are slowly work- 
ing through that series of experiments to the conclusions 
that other states have already reached. Communities, 
like individuals, seldom are benefited by the experiences 
of other communities. But the time probably will soon 
come in Virginia when dependence will be placed on a 



The Chesapeake 225 

cultivated rather than on a natural crop, and to the 
great benefit and satisfaction of every one concerned. 

Public attention is now attracted to Maryland. For 
so long a period the first among the oyster producing 
states, it was the last to recognize the importance of 
oyster culture. The reason for its long delay is that its 
natural supply has been astonishingly great, and public 
opinion did not force a change in method until these 
natural oyster nurseries were very greatly depleted, and 
on the way to early extinction. 

In April, 1906, the Governor of Maryland signed an 
act " to establish and promote the industry of oyster 
culture in Maryland; to define, survey and mark natural 
oyster beds, bars and rocks, to prescribe penalties for the 
infringement of its provisions, and to establish a per- 
manent shell-fish commission." 

Previously, an act known as the " five-acre law " al- 
lowed citizens of the state to select a small plot on bar- 
ren bottoms for planting oysters, " twelve months 
peaceable possession " to constitute a sufficient title 
thereto. Although many such small tracts were taken 
at one time or another, the bedding or culture of oysters 
practically did not exist in the waters of the state. 

Among the features of the act of 1906 may be noticed 
the following : — 

No non-resident, or any corporation or joint stock 
company will be permitted to lease or acquire by assign- 
ment any lands for oyster planting or cultivation. 

All natural beds or rocks are excluded from the 
operation of the act. 

A Shell-fish Commission is created. 

A triangulation survey of natural beds {but not of 
bottoms for lease) was provided for. 



S26 Our Food Moliusks 

All bottoms not included in natural beds were set aside 
for lease. 

Boundaries of natural beds, as determined by the Com- 
mission, may be decided by Judges of Circuit Courts. 

Within the territorial limits of any of the counties, no 
person shall lease or acquire more than ten acres. One 
hundred acres may be acquired in the bay outside county 
lines. 

The terms of lease are twenty years, rental being one 

dollar an acre for the first and second years, two dollars 

■ for the third, three dollars for the fourth, four dollars 

for the fifth, and five dollars a year for the remainder of 

the term. 

No right is given to redeem or purchase land so leased. 

Severe penalties are provided for injury to state buoys, 
and for the theft of oysters from leased bottoms. 

The state fisheries force shall prevent violations of the 
act. 

The Commission appointed by the Governor was of 
great efficiency. One of its members, a professional 
biologist who had had extensive experience in oyster 
work and a complete knowledge of the entire subject of 
oyster culture, took charge of the field work. 

By an act of Congress, it was directed that members of 
the Bureau of the Coast and Geodetic Survey, and the 
Bureau of Fishes, should aid the Maryland Shell-fish 
Commission in making the survey of the natural oyster 
beds in Maryland. This aid was promptly given, the ex- 
penses being met by a special appropriation from the na- 
tional treasury. It is a fact not generally noticed, per- 
haps, that federal aid in oyster investigation and sur- 
veys, has frequently been extended to states, which, in 
some instances, have profited largely by it. 



The Chesapeake 227 

It is safe to say that no natural beds have ever been 
so carefully examined and charted as have those of 
Maryland. Their limits have been drawn liberally in 
favor of tongers and dredgers, and are marked by per- 
manent buoys. The Shell-fish Commission has pub- 
lished expert advice in regard to specific areas open for 
lease, on which conditions for planting or for seed collec- 
tion seem to be favorable. They have designated other 
areas as of doubtful value. They have given reasons for 
some previous failures under the " five-acre law " — due 
to ignorance of biological conditions necessary for the 
attachment of spat. By experiment, they have shown 
to doubters among the oystermen that abundant seed 
may be captured on collectors in the Chesapeake as well 
as in Long Island Sound. They have done everything 
that any similar body of men could do, under the condi- 
tions, to inaugurate a new and prosperous era for Mary- 
land. 

But some of the legislative conditions probably are 
anything but favorable, and it is safe to predict that 
oyster culture will have a very slow growth in the state 
until changes are made. Experience has shown that 
oyster culture which shall produce the best stock, and be 
able to market it with certainty when it is demanded, can 
only be carried on by large interests. With several 
thousand acres, on which natural conditions vary, an in- 
dividual or a company may obtain a set, transplant it to 
growing beds, move it again, if necessary, to fattening 
grounds, always have oysters ready for market, operate 
vessels tliat can obtain them quickly and at any time, and 
thus keep the market steady and certain. Those on 
whom perfect reliance can be placed in the delivery of 
the best goods, will always have the best markets. 



228 Our Food Mollusks 

Under the present system, Maryland can have only 
small planters, who may succeed one year and fail an- 
other. Holdings are not large enough to warrant the 
employment of suitable boats. Most of the planted 
oysters will be tonged or " scraped " after the old 
fashion, and only in good weather is such work possible. 
If leases should become numerous, much litigation will 
arise because boundaries are insufficiently surveyed and 
charted. Prices will rise and fall as many or few bring 
in their harvest, and these small and poor planters will 
have the greatest difficulty in protecting themselves 
against dredging vessels. 

The foremost desire is still for direct revenue to the 
state. The direct revenue system of Rhode Island is 
very attractive about the Chesapeake, but Narragansett 
Bay is small enough to be policed efficiently, and cap- 
ital is invested only because the state offers unlimited ter- 
ritory and has allowed much of it to be taken by non- 
residents. Many of the essential conditions are differ- 
ent in Rhode Island, and it is doubtful if, even there, the 
state profits by its industry as does Connecticut, in which 
bottoms are sold, but where taxable property has de- 
veloped indirectly under the great increase of the oyster 
business. 

But in the course of time — after the natural oyster beds 
have been destroyed — the tonger and the dredger of the 
natural crop will have disappeared. All opposition to 
oyster culture having vanished, the Chesapeake, rich with 
food for an unlimited oyster growth, free from the mpst 
destructive of oyster enemies, with its safe and unvary- 
ing natural conditions, will prove to be of greater value 
to the people on its shores than mountains full of silver 
and gold. 





THE NORTH CAROLINA FIELD 

XAMINING a map of North Carolina, one 
finds a long, narrow strip of land that, ex- 
tending southward from the Virginia shore, 
bounds more than half the coast line of the 
state. This sandy barrier, more than two hundred miles 
long, and formed by the action of waves, is wide and per- 
manent enough efifectually to shut ofT from the sea a 
series of large, shallow sounds. On the north is the nar- 
row Currituck Sound. This communicates at its south- 
ern end with Albemarle Sound, that reaches inward from 



229 



230 Our Food Mollusks 

the ocean for a distance of sixty miles. Still farther to 
the south, and connected with Albemarle, lie the more 
extensive waters of Pamlico Sound. Continuing down 
the coast, one finds the much narrower Core and Bogue 
sounds. 

The map shows that the ocean barrier effectually shuts 
off the two northern sounds from the sea. Opening into 
Pamlico Sound, however, are two large, and several 
smaller inlets, and through them so much salt water en- 
ters, that characteristic marine shore animals and plants 
are found growing in abundance on its bottom. Be- 
tween Core and Bogue sounds, also, is a large inlet, and 
the waters of these are salt. 

One other physical feature of the region, shown on the 
map, is of great importance in a study of its biological 
conditions. It is that several large and many small 
rivers enter the sounds on their western shores. As one 
might surmise from an examination of the map alone, 
Currituck and Albemarle sounds are nearly fresh, and 
oysters and clams are not able to live in them. 

But oysters do not breed readily — indeed, are not able 
naturally to maintain themselves — in water having the 
salinity of the open sea. Successful growth demands 
w^ithin somewhat narrow limits, a mixture of sea and 
fresh waters, and it is because these natural requirements 
are very nearly met in Pamlico Sound and near the 
Bogue Sound inlet, that they become profitable fields of 
study to one interested in the future development of the 
oyster industry. 

The coast of South Carolina is quite different from 
that which has just been noticed, in that most of it is un- 
broken. At the city of Charleston and just above the 
Georgia line, however, there are bays with many rami- 



The North Carolina Field 231 

fications, and in these there are natural oyster heds. 
Though the oysters are generally of poor quality, several 
canneries have been established in the state to supply a 
local market. The possible production of these bays un- 
der culture methods merits attention, but reference to it 
•will be omitted from this account, only the larger and 
more promising field in North Carolina being considered. 

This latter in some respects is strikingly different from 
the fields farther north on the Atlantic coast. It also 
differs from the oyster areas of the Gulf of Mexico, and 
in most ways, perhaps, to its disadvantage. It is with- 
out doubt the poorest of the large Atlantic oyster 
grounds, and yet it is valuable, and under culture meth- 
ods fostered by wise legislation, may in the future be- 
come much more so. 

The map will show much irregularity in the western 
shore-line of North Carolina's oyster area. Many bays, 
or, as they are called locally, rivers or creeks, lead into 
broader waters from surrounding marshes. In these 
rivers are usually many oysters, and their peculiar posi- 
tion or distribution would excite the interest of a north- 
ern oysterman ; for they are found only along the river 
banks, and are very generally absent from the bottoms. 
Not only is this true, but the majority of them lie within 
the limits of the high and low tide lines, and as a conse- 
quence are exposed to the air for long periods each day. 
The average vertical distance between tide levels over 
this field is about three feet. 

When the bank of a river or creek rises abruptly from 
the low tide mark, a narrow line of oysters, all exposed 
at low tide, will be found along its surface. But often 
the banks are so low that the rising water flows over 
them and covers an extensive area on each side, thus 



232 Our Food MoUusks 

forming tidal flats that may be partially or completely 
covered with oysters (Figure 49). 

Islands are formed in many of the channels, often so 
numerous that there remain only narrow streams be- 
tween them. Though these rise only a few inches above 
the high water line, they are frequently covered with 
grass in the center. Around their margins are oyster 
fringes, here, as elsewhere, extending from the low to 
the high tide level. 

It has recently been shown by some very interesting 
observations conducted by Dr. Caswell Grave, that these 
islands are formed by the oysters themselves. In the 
beginning of the process there may have been an open 
channel, the river banks alone being fringed with 
oysters. A river bank, of course, does not lie in a per- 
fectly straight line. Here and there parts of it project 
into the current. Now oysters growing on such points 
are very much favored, because the currents are a little 
more rapid there. This means that aeration is better, 
and especially that a greater amount of food is brought. 
Consequently these favored oysters grow more rapidly 
than others. Their number, also, increases more rap- 
idly here, for the reason that the more active current 
keeps their shells comparatively clean, thus affording ob- 
jects for the attachment of the young. A greater number 
of swimming embryos, also, will be brought to the pro- 
jecting point by the swifter current than to other parts 
of the river bank. From time to time, winds, waves or 
ice, break clusters of oysters from the point. They roll 
down toward the channel, many of the oysters continu- 
ing to live and grow. Year after year these clusters ac- 
cumulate on the bottom beyond the point. Sediment 
gradually settles among the lower shells, while new gen- 



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^1 


■hn^ 


^gg 


Bis^sSf^l^tBlfSlti 


T^JJJiJ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H 



Fig. 48. Laborator\- employees tonging and culling clustered 
oysters in Louisiana. Note the character of tongs and 
cullin.g board. 




Fig. 49. Natural growth of "coon oyster" clusters between 
tide lines in Soutii Carolina. Professor Bashford Dean, 
U. S. F. C. Bulletin. 



The North Carolina Field 233 

erations of oysters attach to the upper ones, so that 
finally the living oysters are raised first to the low and 
then nearly to the high tide line. In this manner, the 
point, advancing on the foundation that it itself prepares, 
thrusts itself in the form of a narrow reef out into the 
current, and its advance will continue until the direction 
of the current is changed, or its force is checked. 

In the meantime, the current has hecome so slow at the 
point on the shore from which the reef began to grow, 
that most of the oysters in that locality have died. 
There is here, then, no longer a living crust of oysters 
on the reef to protect it from erosion, and gradually the 
rising and falling tides wear through it, and cut it down 
until the remainder of the reef has lost all connection 
with the shore from which it arose, and has become an 
island. This widens somewhat, waves now and then 
throw detached oysters on to its center, floating matter 
catches there, grass begins to grow, and it gradually rises 
above the ordinary high tide line. Around its margins 
oysters still continue to grow between the tide lines. 

Such a process requires many years for its completion, 
and even after an island is formed, it probably is still sub- 
jected to slow but unceasing changes that are in some 
cases constructive, in others destructive. In many of the 
bays or rivers, all stages of growth, from the small and 
inconspicuous point to the fully developed island, may 
be observed. 

To one familiar with other fields where oysters never 
are found fixed between the tide lines, but exist only on 
bottoms that are continually immersed, these peculiarly 
elevated reefs, and bottoms so generally barren, are very 
curious. Two questions at once arise in his mind. 
First, why do not oysters naturally establish themselves 



234 Our Food MoUusks 

on beaches and flats in the Chesapeake or Long Island 
waters, as they do here? All Atlantic oysters are of one 
species, and in all regions their habits are probably 
identical; yet in one place they grow and reproduce on 
periodically exposed flats, and in the other, only on the 
bottom below tide lines. The answer is that they do at- 
tach between the tide lines in the northern fields, but that 
very early in the terrible northern winter, every such un- 
fortunate perishes from cold. 

But a second question is not so easily answered. Why, 
in these marginal waters of the Carolina sounds, do 
oysters not more often appear on the bottoms below the 
tide lines? Farther north it is only in such a position 
that they establish themselves. Several suggestions 
have been made concerning conditions that might ex- 
plain the phenomenon. The most plausible is that the 
water is so heavily burdened with silt, frequently depos- 
ited, that very young oysters are smothered, even when 
not actually covered by it, possibly, it has been suggested, 
because their gills become encumbered with mud par- 
ticles. This probably is not true. The gill of the adult 
can free itself of any quantity of mud, as may be shown 
by experiment. Adult oysters sometimes survive when 
deposits have been so heavy as to cover them to a depth 
of several inches, the gill currents keeping an opening 
through the mud like the burrow of a clam. The gills 
of the young probably are not less capable of keeping 
their surfaces clean. 

The fall of silt in some waters may, of course, be so 
heavy as to cover, and thus to smother, recently attached 
oysters; but even when less heavy, it may, when long 
continued, lead to their death, not by smothering, or 
preventing the oxygenation of the blood, but by starv- 



The North Carolina Field 235 

ing the young bodies that have not yet stored reserve 
food in tlieir tissues (see Chapter IV). The mere peri- 
odical sprinkling of young oysters with silt is probably 
not so destructive as it is generally supposed to be. 

It may be noted that other waters than these, that 
successfully support oyster life, are also muddy. Silt is 
constantly deposited over a great part of the European 
oyster territory. The waters of the Chesapeake are 
muddy. The finest of sediment is at frequent intervals 
settling to the bottom about the Mississippi delta, where 
flourishing oyster beds below low water are everywhere 
present. In the light of these facts it may seem strange 
that only here oysters should be generally absent from 
the bottom. 

It will be shown presently that in these rivers oysters 
do establish themselves below the low water level, along 
the sides of reefs. They are confined to those localities, 
and the bottoms elsewhere are barren. Such segrega- 
tions are formed on shells that drop from the reefs above 
and pave the bottom, no matter how soft it may be. Not 
only is this true, but the young attach to these shells and 
grow. This proves that, while the water is often ex- 
cessively muddy, not enough silt is deposited to prevent 
oyster growth when the bottom is once paved. 

The bottoms below tide lines are very generally barren, 
then, only because, away from the immediate vicinity of 
oyster reefs, there is no natural deposit of any foreign 
objects to harden il. Experiments show that if a suffi- 
cient number of oyster shells or other hard bodies are 
spread on the softest of these bottoms during the breed- 
ing season, so as to afford surfaces for attachment, beds 
of oysters form on them, and spread at the margins, one 
generation growing on the shells of another. On these 



236 Our Food Mollusks 

river bottoms there have never been, under natural con- 
ditions, any such bodies that might afford attachment, 
and thus serve as a nucleus for oyster growth. Along 
the north coast are stones, and gravel, and the shells of 
mollusks; and about the Mississippi delta, vast numbers 
of shells of two or three species of small bivalves that 
inhabit the mud, came naturally, in certain localities, to 
lie on the surfaces of the softest bottoms. On these, 
natural beds became established. 

There are very extensive oyster beds on the banks of 
these small bays or rivers. Because they are exposed at 
low water, these oysters could easily be gathered. As a 
matter of fact, they are seldom disturbed, for they are 
not marketable. They have been used as a fertilizer, 
and burned for the lime in their shells. A few of the 
oyster establishments occasionally succeed in disposing 
of them in cans, but from the commercial point of view 
they are almost valueless on account of their small size, 
elongated form, and poor condition. 

To one who has seen oysters only from artificial beds, 
where they lie spread out in an even layer, these present 
a strange appearance. What first attracts attention is 
that they are in clusters of various sizes. If one were 
to attempt to lift a cluster from the bank, he would find 
that its base extended down into the mud so deep as to 
afford a secure anchorage. A vigorous pull may dis- 
lodge the whole mass, though the lower part of it may be 
buried under many inches of soft mud. It will then be 
discovered that the cluster of living oysters that was ex- 
posed above the bottom, is firmly attached to a number 
of empty oyster shells below them, the whole being fused 
into a compact mass. The shells of living and dead 
oysters thus bound together may number scores. 



The North Carolina Field 237 

The explanation for such a relation between so many 
individuals is simple. A single large oyster shell may 
lie on the surface of the mud near living oysters. If it 
is free from slime when oyster embryos are swimming 
in the water, it affords a surface for the attachment of 
one or more of them. Usually several establish them- 
selves on it. Not all of these live, and many perish 
early. A few continue to live and extend their bodies 
upward into the current. Only those that grow upward 
can survive, for the currents steadily deposit silt obtained 
from the land. Slowly the original shell is buried, and 
finally disappears, and the mud creeps up to the younger 
individuals that it bears. If their bodies are growing 
outward from its sides, they, too, are covered. Again 
in the breeding season, a second generation attaches it- 
self to the exposed portions of the shells of the first. If 
sediment has collected rapidly, they become fixed only 
to the exposed edges of the shells; if slowly, to any part 
of them, in this case forming a larger and broader 
cluster. 

Year after year the process continues. The earlier 
generations are buried and die, but still their empty shells 
lift up their descendants into the life-giving streams 
above. The time finally comes when the earlier shells 
are completely dissolved, if the mud contains acids 
formed by the decay of organic matter, but it is often 
possible to distinguish in the cluster uprooted from the 
mud, six or seven generations of oysters. 

The oysters of these river banks are of little value 
commercially, because of their form and condition. Most 
of them are narrow and greatly elongated, and this is due 
entirely to crowding. Like clams in small and irregular 
spaces betv/een stones, their growing bodies conform to 



238 Our Food Mollusks 

the outlines of the available space. The shell is some- 
times greatly distorted. Crowded oysters growing 
parallel with each other on the top of a cluster can 
only elongate, if they grow at all. Oysters, when not 
crowded or confined, assume a rounded form, though 
when allowed to become very old and large, they 
normally begin to elongate. The soft parts of densely 
clustered oysters are usually thin and watery, probably 
because food is not sufficient for all members of a 
cluster. This is especially true of oysters exposed at 
low tide, for they are able to obtain food only when 
immersed. 

Such elongated forms are called " raccoon " or " coon 
oysters," either from their fancied resemblance to a 
raccoon's paw or from the fact that these animals frequent 
the beaches where they are found, presumably in search 
of them. 

Clusters of coon oysters are not peculiar to the Caro- 
lina sounds. Where beds are not frequently tonged, 
they are found in Louisiana, and would form readily in 
northern oyster waters if left undisturbed. A cluster on 
a hard, clean bottom would assume a roughly hemispher- 
ical, instead of an elongated form, because young oysters 
attaching to the sides, as well as to the top of the grow- 
ing cluster, would be able to live and grow. These, also, 
not being so often forced to grow parallel with each other 
as in the case of those being covered with mud, would 
not so often be elongated. 

A question of economic importance presents itself 
here. As the elongated form assumed by clustered 
oysters is due only to close crowding, would such oysters 
become large and well rounded if separated from the 
clusters and spread on a suitable bottom? Might not 



The North Carolina Field 



239 



these useless coon oysters be converted into marketable 
forms ? 

As a result of observations recently made in North 
Carolina waters by members of the staff of investigators 
of the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries, it may be answered 
that the larger coon oysters are not able to make much 
improvement in form. But it has been shown that in- 

'^^"^^^ 






Fig. 50. — Upper row, young oysters beginning to elongate from 
pressure in thick clusters. Lower row shows rapid improve- 
ment in form after liberation from cluster. Outlines from 
photographs by O. C. Glaser, U. S. F. C. Report. 

dividuals less than two inches in length, even though 
they may have begun to elongate, do respond, on being 
freed from clusters, by assuming the desired normal out- 
line and size. This is a fact of some importance, for it 
proves that seed oysters, in case of a poor set upon col- 
lectors, may safely be taken from these abundant 
clusters. 

The results of such an experiment are represented in 
Figure 50. The individuals of the upper row were 
taken from clusters, and had begun to elongate. The 
actual length of the larger ones was about one and three- 
fourths inches. The lov/er group represents the same 



240 Our Food Mollusks 

oysters after a growth of but two months on a favorable 
bottom. They have not greatly increased in size, the 
larger ones being about two and a half inches in length; 
but the significant fact shown in their outlines, is that 
immediately after being freed from their crowded con- 
dition, they began to widen and assume the normal form. 

It may appear from some of the statements made 
that the marginal waters of the sounds would be of 
little value if oyster culture were to be practised in 
North Carolina, but though clustered oysters exposed at 
low tide are not marketable, they would become in- 
valuable in case artificial beds were constructed in the 
sounds, because of the vast numbers of oyster embryos 
that they produce. These embryos, suspending them- 
selves in the water for many hours, may be carried to 
some distance by currents before they finally settle to 
the bottom and make the attempt to attach themselves. 
How far, in extreme cases, they may thus be transported 
before becoming attached, no one is able to say. Cases 
are known in which they have been carried several miles. 
But spat collectors spread on bottoms near the reefs, 
judicially selected with reference to tide currents that 
might bear the embryos from them, would, in most sea- 
sons, be able to gather a supply of young that, under 
normal conditions, settle on the soft mud and perish. 

But in still another way these natural reefs are already 
valuable, for it is from them that the existing tonging 
grounds have arisen. Two agencies, one natural, the 
other artificial, have been at work on the natural reefs 
to form beds of another sort, on which a considerable 
number of marketable oysters are found. 

If one were carefully to observe the reef oysters 
through the various seasons of the year, he would dis- 



The North Carolina Field 241 

cover that now and then certain of thcni break from the 
reef and roll down the steep sides into the channel. This 
occurs when storm waves at high tide dash against the 
clusters, breaking or uprooting them. In winter, the 
grinding action of ice adds to the number of oysters lying 
on the deeper bottom below the tide lines. The ac- 
cumulation is made slowly, but continues from year to 
year, and finally a firm shell bottom, sometimes many 
yards in width, is formed parallel to the sides of the 
reef. On this are found not only clusters that have 
rolled down, but single oysters scattered here and there, 
which, having grown without crowding, have become 
large and rounded. In the breeding season, swimming 
young attach to these deeper shells as well as to those be- 
tween tide lines, and in this way the deeper bed grows 
rapidly. As one would expect, these, if left to grow 
undisturbed, become as completely clustered and worth- 
less as the reef oysters above them. But wind, waves, 
and frost, thus operating to form a new bed, have scat- 
tered over it so many single oysters that they begin to be 
sought by tongers, and in this way is introduced the 
more important agency that makes the tonging ground 
more extensive and valuable. 

Consciously or unconsciously the tongers begin to 
practise a very successful method of oyster culture. They 
lift from the bottom numbers of empty shells, small 
clusters, and a few single oysters of large size. Because 
the clusters are comparatively small, they contain some 
individuals of good shape and size. These are separated 
from the others on a culling board carried by the boat, 
and the empty shells and small oysters from the broken 
clusters are returned to the bottom. Two important re- 
sults follow this practice. The area of the shelled bot- 



242 Our Food Mollusks 

torn is increased, and clusters are broken apart, the num- 
ber of single small oysters on the bottom being rapidly 
multiplied. Oysters probably are not culled on the 
ground with the purpose of extending or improving the 
beds, but because the waste material from culling is too 
great in volume to be carried to the shore. But here is 
only another demonstration of the fact that the shelling 
of the bottom and the breaking and scattering of clusters 
soon produces a valuable oyster bed. 

The total area of the existing river tonging grounds 
is so limited that they have never been of great com- 
mercial importance, and in recent years have become 
much less prolific than formerly, because of excessive 
tonging. Before the opening of canning establishments 
like those at Beaufort, it was sometimes possible for a 
tonger to gather in one day thirty or even forty bushels 
of oysters from these river beds; but the canneries so 
stimulated the fishing that at the present time the max- 
imum catch is not more than fifteen bushels. The price 
received for these oysters, also, is small. When sold at 
the canneries, a bushel seldom brings the tonger more 
than twelve cents. In certain seasons, however, he is 
able to sell his oysters for immediate consumption, and 
then may receive as much as twenty-five cents a bushel 
for them. At best, the tonger's business is a poor one. 

Experiment also has shown that on many of the tong- 
ing grounds natural conditions are so variable that all 
the care that may be given to growing oysters would be 
unavailing. Variations in the density of the water, 
especially, are such that sometimes, even for several suc- 
cessive seasons, oysters become so poor as to be quite un- 
salable. 

While river or shore grounds, with their reefs and tong- 



The North Carolina Field 243 

ing bottoms, possibly may never produce many market- 
able oysters, conditions are different in the broader 
water. In Pamlico Sound, a body of water approx- 
imately sixty miles long by twenty-five miles wide, the 
possibilities of future oyster culture seem to be great. 
Opening through the spit that separates it from the 
ocean, are five or six inlets of sufficient size to give the 
sound waters a tidal rise and fall of three or four feet. 
There are, however, no tidal currents except near the 
inlets, but variable wind currents, often having a velocity 
of half a mile an hour, are frequently developed, and 
serve the purpose of carrying food to extensive oyster 
beds in various parts of the sound. The greater part of 
the bottom is of hard sand, covered by a thin layer of 
mud and organic material. The water is shallow, sel- 
dom attaining a depth of more than twenty feet. Here 
and there are extensive tracts at a distance from shore 
over which there are less than ten feet of water. Waves 
drag the bottom during severe storms, and sand thus 
shifted where oysters are growing destroys them in 
great numbers. 

The history of the oyster industry in Pamlico Sound 
is a record of the usual series of events. Natural beds 
were discovered, dredging became excessive, the beds 
were soon impoverished, many of them being completely 
destroyed, and the ruin of a large natural source of 
wealth was begun. All this occurred much more rap- 
idly than in Chesapeake Bay — a fortunate circumstance 
in one way, because it is the usually necessary prelim- 
inary to oyster culture. 

In the winter of 1887-8 a survey of the oyster grounds 
of the sound was made by Lieutenant Winslow, U. S. N.. 
and many extensive oyster beds, before unknown, were 



244 Our Food Mollusks 

charted at this time. There had come a great dechne in 
the yield of the Chesapeake. In the year 1889 the de- 
mand greatly increased, and the attention of Baltimore 
packers was drawn to this newly discovered source of 
supply made known through Winslow's survey. Many 
of them sent their vessels south to " develop " the new 
territory. Large quantities of oysters were dredged and 
sent to Baltimore, where they were marketed by can- 
ners and dealers in raw oysters as the product of Ches- 
apeake Bay. 

Pamlico Sound oysters were inferior to those taken 
from the Chesapeake, chiefly because they were from 
beds that had never been dredged or extensively tonged. 
Having grown undisturbed, they were clustered, but 
because the bottom was hard, they were not so extremely 
elongated as on the river reefs, and many were large 
and of good shape. 

The appearance of the Chesapeake dredgers made a 
great and sudden change in the modest industry of 
North Carolina. Previous to the year 1889 oysters had 
been gathered only from very shallow water by means uf 
primitive, short-handled, wooden-toothed rakes. From 
all the waters of the state the number taken had seldom 
exceeded a hundred thousand bushels. Competition in 
the markets with other states had been impossible, and 
only local needs had been met. 

But now there had come a great general demand with 
high prices. There had suddenly appeared a number of 
experienced oystermen with implements entirely new to 
the region. The native tongers for the first time learned 
of the long-handled, basket-like, iron-headed tongs used 
in the Chesapeake, and they soon profited by the knowl- 
edge. Formerly they had been content to fish within a 



The North Carolina Field 245 

mile or two of the shore in very shallow water, but the 
native fishermen soon followed their more venturesome 
visitors farther into the sound, where many new and 
extensive beds were discovered. In a short time the 
tonging industry became an extensive and important one. 
While much of it was carried on by the non-residents, 
local interest in the business was also greatly stimulated. 

The really important matter, however, was the in- 
troduction of the dredge to these waters, where previ- 
ously it had been unknown. Having found an oyster 
bed on such a hard, smooth bottom, the captain of a 
Maryland pungy knew how to load it rapidly. The seri- 
ous question at first was in regard to the number and 
extent of oyster beds; but as the work of the dredgers 
progressed, new beds were continually discovered for 
several years, until many times the number indicated in 
Winslow's report was known. Without doubt the early 
hopes of the Baltimore dredgers were more than realized 
for some time. But if any entertained the idea that 
Pamlico Sound would continue to produce oysters as 
the Chesapeake had done, while subjected to the rapacious 
method of dredging employed, they were disappointed. 
There is but one possible result from su-ch methods. 
It was long delayed in the Chesapeake, because of its 
unequaled fertility, but it was not long delayed here. 

A few statistical statements will tell the story of the 
rise and decline of the oyster fisheries of North Carolina 
after the advent of the Maryland oystermen. 

For some years before the survey of Winslow, there 
had been kept a more or less accurate record of the num- 
ber of bushels of oysters taken by residents from the 
waters of the state. From this it appears that it rarely 
exceeded a hundred thousand bushels, and was often 



246 Our Food Mollusks 

much less. In 1890 the resident oystermen alone sold ^ 
914,130 bushels — probably quite ten times the average 
number formerly gathered. But during this one season, 
the non-resident dredgers, who had excited all this in- 
dustry among the local oystermen, gathered and carried 
away a much larger number, of which no record was 
made. The outsiders had now come not only from the 
Chesapeake, but also from Delaware and New Jersey, 
and their dredging vessels numbered at least two hun- 
dred and fifty. It has been estimated that in this year 
they obtained at least 1,800,000 bushels from Pamlico 
Sound. 

When these facts were understood by the people of the 
state, they naturally felt very strongly that they were 
being despoiled by outsiders of great wealth belonging 
to them alone, and before another oyster season had 
come, drastic laws were passed that prohibited all dredg- 
ing by non-residents, and shortened the season for the 
taking of oysters by resident oystermen. The result of 
the enforcement of these laws exceeded all expectations, 
as is shown by the fact that the number of bushels mar- 
keted during the season ending in 1894 was only sixty 
thousand — less than the average of the earlier years, 
when only wooden tongs were employed. But still the 
laws were retained, and in the season ending in 1897, but 
forty thousand bushels were reported as having been 
taken. 

Of course, such a degree of stagnation made it evi- 
dent that a mistake had been made, and in that year the 
open season was lengthened. The wisdom of the change 
was proved during the following season, when 858,818 
bushels were marketed. Very much encouraged by this 
showing, with the demand for oysters increasing, the 



The North Carolina Field 247 

oystermen made great preparations for the season of 
1898-9. A large number of dredging vessels and tong- 
ing boats began work with its opening and continued to 
its close. The total number of oysters marketed was 
greater than ever before, 1,559,000 bushels being cred- 
ited to the dredgers, and 900,000 to the tongers. 

Naturally, hopes for the season of 1899- 1900 were 
high, but it brought disappointment, for dredgers and 
tongers together succeeded in gathering about 1,900,000 
bushels, a number far below that expected. In many 
cases dredgers were not able to pay expenses by their 
catch. The season's work clearly developed the fact 
that the source of supply was limited. The optimism 
of the previous years, that could see nothing but an in- 
exhaustible supply, gave way to the fear, in many minds, 
that the beds were being destroyed by excessive dredging. 

Another explanation for the decrease was offered, 
however. In the months of August and October of the 
year 1899, terrific southeast gales had torn the bottom, 
and had cast upon the west and northwest shores of the 
sound large numbers of oysters from shallower beds. 
It also covered many shore beds with mud and sand. It 
was asserted that waves in the open sound had been 
large enough to drag bottom, and that shifting sand had 
thus covered and destroyed oysters enough to account 
for the great decrease in their number on the beds. 

In January and February of the year 1899, the United 
States and North Carolina Fish Commissions united in 
an effort to determine the causes of the partial failures 
of the fishing reported earlier in the season. The in- 
vestigation showed that tlie storms had indeed made 
many changes. In some localities, where destruction 
had been greatest, as many as twenty per cent, of the 



248 Our Food Mollusks 

oysters had been covered with sand in quantities suffi- 
cient to kill them. 

But it was shown with equal certainty that the beds 
had been reduced, and in some cases almost completely 
destroyed, by excessive dredging, and that this had been 
much more harmful than the storms. It v^as stated in 
one of the reports on this investigation that for two or 
three years everything that came up in the dredges of the 
oystermen had been taken on board and carried to the can- 
neries, where the culling had been done. Culled shells, 
often bearing young oysters, had been heaped on the 
shore in great piles, and yet the law provided that culling 
should be done where oysters were dredged, empty shells 
and small oysters to be returned to the bottom. The re- 
sponsibility for this lawlessness rested largely on the state 
authorities, for no attempt had been made to enforce the 
law. A fairly good harvest is still marketed each year, 
but the cull law is not strictly enforced, and the natural 
beds are still failing. 

True oyster culture is not practised in the state. Arti- 
ficial beds had been constructed in a river near Beaufort 
as early as 1840, and subsequently many attempts were 
made to rear oysters on bottoms selected for the purpose. 
This was not done with the idea of producing oysters for 
market, but only for private consumption. The small 
plots were spoken of as " oyster gardens," and the term 
has been retained locally and applied to all artificial 
beds. Since 1872 private beds have been authorized by 
law. 

The earlier attempts at oyster culture were naturally 
confined to the rivers and small bays along the shores. 
They were conducted on a very small scale, and appar- 
ently were never systematically 01 consistently carried 



The North Carolina Field 249 

out. Usually clusters were removed from a reef and 
tlirown unculled on a convenient bottom. Naturally, these 
transplanted oysters did not improve, and more often 
perished. Usually, however, young oysters became at- 
tached to their shells in great numbers. In this way it 
was shown that in some localities a good set could be de- 
pended on, and that with suitable collectors a seed- 
gathering industry might easily be established. But 
sooner or later the river beds have invariably failed as 
growing and conditioning grounds, and probably never 
can be improved. Until the present, also, there has been 
no protection against trespassers, a condition that alone 
makes oyster culture an impossibility. 

Natural conditions in Pamlico Sound are much bet- 
ter than in the rivers. At about the time of the publica- 
tion of Winslow's report, on the natural beds of the 
sound in 1888, and again, a decade later, much enthusi- 
asm over oyster culture was developed, and many beds 
were constructed in the sound ; but here, also, the failure 
of all attempts was complete. The reason given for this 
by the Fish Commission experts who studied the matter, 
is that those making the experiments were unfamiliar 
with the biological recjuirements. Of the planters it 
was said, " They were not aware how very much depends 
upon the selection of ground, the accessibility of an 
abundant food supply, the specific gravity of the water, 
and its freedom from extreme fluctuations, the time and 
methods of planting cultch and oysters, etc." State 
laws also, very defective and seldom observed, rendered 
success impossible. 

There are, nevertheless, reasons for believing that the 
biological conditions in many parts of Pamlico Sound 
are favorable for the maintenance of an artificial oyster 



250 Our Food Mollusks 

industry of large proportions. The cotton states of the 
South must soon increase greatly in population. With a 
greater market for oysters near at hand, extensive oyster 
culture may be expected to develop in the sound, if rea- 
sonable laws are enacted and enforced. 




iaallsW** 



CHAPTER XVI 



THE GULF OF MEXICO 




N the many hundreds of miles of the Gulf 
shore line there are extensive tracts that have 
^ always borne natural oyster beds, but as com- 
pared with the Atlantic coast, this is prac- 
tically an undeveloped field. It has been estimated that 
ninety per cent, of the oysters marketed each year in 
the United States comes from the coast north of the 
mouth of Chesapeake Bay. One of the reasons for the 
unproductiveness of the Gulf is that the population of 
the states bounding it is sparse and scattered. There are 
few large cities, and consequently little local demand for 
oysters. As population and wealth increase, it is to be 
expected that the natural resources of the waters will be 
developed, but most of the Gulf states probably have a 

251 



252 Our Food Mollusks 

long way to go from the present state of affairs to suc- 
cessful oyster culture. 

Florida is the most backward of all states having an 
oyster territory. In prehistoric times great quantities 
of oysters were taken from its bays and lagoons, as is 
shown by extensive shell heaps along both of its coasts. 
On the Atlantic side natural oyster reefs still are found 
near Fernandina, and in certain parts of the Indian 
River, which is a long, narrow bay of salt water cut off 
from the ocean by a low ridge. The coast-line on the 
Gulf side is broken by several extensive bays and wide 
river mouths, in which oysters grow luxuriantly. 

Oysters from parts of the southernmost coast are said 
to be very " coppery " in taste. This peculiar flavor is 
to be found in oysters from many localities north and 
south in this country, as well as in Europe. It is not 
caused by the presence of copper in solution in the water, 
as it has been supposed, but its nature is not known. 

Many of the oysters of the lower part of the peninsula 
are of the " coon " type, and lie above the low water 
mark, as in the Carolinas. Much has been written of 
oysters attached to the roots of the mangroves in Florida, 
that are exposed at low tide, as if they were as anomalous 
as the fruit of Eugene Field's " Sugar-plum Tree." 
These " oysters that grow on trees " are, of course, ex- 
actly the same in habit and in position, with reference to 
the tide, as many of the oysters that grow on mud. In 
the middle and upper parts of the Gulf shore are many 
beds bearing oysters of good shape. This is because 
they are tonged frequently enough to insure the breaking 
apart of clusters. 

Here, also, most of the beds are below tide lines. As 
in the Carolinas, they have the form of long, narrow 



The Gulf of Mexico 253 

reefs, and lie in very shallow water. Beneath them is a 
deposit of soft, deep mud that characterizes the Gulf 
everywhere. The most important growth is in Apalachi- 
cola Bay, but it is almost everywhere covered by mussels. 

The state of Florida created a Fish Commission in 
1889. It formerly paid the president of this commis- 
sion a salary of one hundred and fifty dollars a year. He 
has now been made " Honorary President," without re- 
muneration. The secretary of the commission has never 
received a salary. Out of pure loyalty to the common- 
wealth, entirely without appropriations, with almost no 
authority, advancing the interests of the fisheries to the 
best of their ability from their private means, receiving 
no indirect benefit, subject to criticism, and doing a large 
amount of valuable work, this commission has served 
for many years. 

There are oyster laws in Florida, but none are ob- 
served, except that the cull law, requiring shells and 
small oysters to be replaced on the beds from which they 
are taken, has been enforced in Apalachicola Bay — at the 
expense of local dealers, and not by the state. A very 
few oysters are steamed and canned. 

Undoubtedly there are extensive tracts on the Gulf 
coast of Florida that might supply a large market with 
cultivated oysters. An estimate based on a U. S. Fish 
Commission oyster survey places the number of acres 
suitable for oyster culture in Apalachicola Bay alone at 
6,800. A great fear that assails Florida as well as other 
states, is that these oyster bottoms may sometime fall 
into the hands of some monstrous corporation. For sev- 
eral reasons, this will not be realized. Among them are 
the facts that capital will not be invested while political 
conditions remain as they are on the Florida shores, and 



254 Our Food Mollusks 

that the shallow bottoms permit the gathering of oysters 
only by the slow, laborious, and uncertain method of 
longing. 

A glance at a map reveals the limited shore lines of 
Alabama and Mississippi. From east to west the former 
has about fifty-five and the latter about seventy miles of 
coast, though Mobile Bay and Mississippi Sound make 
the shore line actually very much longer. But oyster 
waters within these states are not extensive enough to 
promise important developments in the oyster industry 
of the future. 

To the present time, however, Mobile in Alabama, and 
Biloxi in Mississij^pi, have been important canning cen- 
ters. Most of the oysters canned in the latter city were 
formerly taken from waters claimed by the state of 
Louisiana, which claim was upheld by the U. S. Supreme 
Court in 1906. 

Louisiana is the most progressive of oyster producing 
states excepting those of the northern field. Its produc- 
tion is not large when compared with that of Maryland 
or Virginia, but it has made great and substantial prog- 
ress in oyster culture, and the industry, responding at 
once to sensible and liberal laws, is growing rapidly and 
securely. 

In one respect Louisiana is unique among states pos- 
sessing oyster fields. While the greater part of its pro- 
duct has been derived from natural beds, it has not waited 
until these were destroyed before searching for some 
other source of suppl}^ but has energetically and in- 
telligently encouraged oyster culture. At the same time 
its natural beds, though now more or less depleted, are 
being systematically cared for, and bid fair to remain as 
prolific public tonging grounds for some time to come. 



The Gulf of Mexico 255 

Better oysters than those from the natural beds are being 
produced in increasing numbers on cultivated tracts. 

Every one is familiar with the manner in which the 
great Mississippi is bearing down and depositing in the 
Gulf, as it has done for ages, vast quantities of surface 
soil eroded from the interior. It perhaps is not so well 
known that the land all about its delta is slowly subsid- 
ing. Back from the shore, the preserved stumps of trees 
once standing near the water, have been found hundreds 
of feet beneath the surface of the ground. It is stated 
that oyster shells have been encountered at a depth of 
two thousand feet, in some of the recent oil well borings 
near the Texas line, though the statement needs verifica- 
tion. In spite of this subsidence, that still continues, 
the river is building its channel each year farther into 
the Gulf on its own deposit. 

The whole of the present delta and the shore east and 
west of it is irregular and much broken. Some have 
estimated the actual extent of the shore line in the state 
at two thousand miles, but on account of its unstable 
nature in some places, no accurate estimate of it can be 
made. The extent of the enclosed bays and lagoons is, 
however, very great, and in them oysters thrive. Com- 
paratively few oysters are found, or can be reared, on 
the west half of the coast of the state. 

Some very optimistic estimates have been made of the 
area available for oyster culture. One writer, for ex- 
ample, citing the fact that oysters are planted in seventy- 
five feet of water in Long Island Sound, reasons from it 
in the following interesting manner: — If it is possible to 
rear oysters at that depth in Connecticut, it will be pos- 
sible also in Louisiana. If, then, we draw a line on the 
map following the seventy-five foot level, in the Gulf, 



2^6 Our Food MoUusks 

the bottom between it and the shore will constitute the 
oyster field. This area embraces six million acres. 

Though it is believed by some that oysters exist in the 
waters of the open Gulf, this has not been demonstrated, 
and is very doubtful. Whether conditions will allow of 
their growth if planted there, must be determined by ex- 
periment. What evidence we possess, as will be ex- 
plained later, makes the possibilities of oyster culture in 
open waters other than those of Chandeleur and Isle au 
Breton sounds seem to be very few. 

The broken coast of St. Bernard Parish, or County, as 
it would be called in another state, is quite typical. Sail- 
ing southeast from the opening of Lake Pontchartrain 
across Lake Borgne, one sights what seems to be a low, 
straight shore line in the far distance. Soon the stranger 
to this region discerns, at wide intervals, isolated groves 
of dense forest growth, but nothing in the background 
to break the monotony of the straight line of shore. 
Then, with bewildering suddenness, the vessel draws 
near; the distant coast, with its hidden details, resolves 
itself into a line of grass near at hand. While one gazes 
at them, the trees shrink into low shrubs, and one ex- 
periences the weird sensation of having arrived at the 
kingdom of Lilliput. 

But the vessel skirts this dense jungle of stiff, high 
grass from morning until night, and a second or a third 
day may still find it passing the unchanging, but by no 
means uninteresting, borders of this strange kingdom. 
Now and then an excursion may be made into Its interior 
through one of the numerous inviting channels that lead 
to a network of narrow bayous, broad passages, or salt 
lakes, many of them of great size. One might sail for 
weeks through these meadows and among islands always 



The Gulf of Mexico 257 

new, and yet always the same, but it requires only a short 
time to make a strong impression of the immense ex- 
panse of this land. There are more than five hundred 
square miles of it in this and in the neighboring parish of 
Plaquemines, and some of the inland bays or lakes are 
many miles in extent. 

The soil is everywhere a stiff mud rising less than 
twenty inches above ordinary high tide, though here and 
there the waves of storms have piled up long banks of 
shells to a height of three or four feet. Nothing else 
except low mangrove bushes relieves the monotonous ex- 
panse that stretches to the horizon. But this is not 
everywhere true, for once or twice on the way down to 
the east bank of the Mississippi, an oysterman's hut or 
a small canning factory, unnaturally and monstrously 
imposing in its surroundings, appears high up on the 
ends of piles. In spite of all precautions, these buildings 
are in a precarious position, for in hurricanes like those 
of 1893 or of 1900, the whole region may be covered by 
angry water to a depth of ten or twelve feet. 

Those passes that serve as channels for the tidal flows 
are sometimes deep, but in the bays and quiet lagoons, 
from three to six feet of water only, cover a bottom of 
mud. The normal rise of the tide is but a few inches, 
and very little bottom is exposed at low water. 

In spite of the general atmosphere of barrenness and 
utter desolation, the waters of this country are found 
almost everywhere to bear natural oyster beds, many of 
which have practically never been disturbed. Some of 
the bottom is hard and otherwise offers an inviting op- 
portunity for oyster planting. Much tonging is done on 
some of the natural deposits, and culling on the tonging 
grounds is more generally practised in Louisiana than in 



258 Our Food Mollusks 

any other state. The supply is thus in a measure con- 
tinued. Oysters are not found exposed, as in the Caro- 
linas and Florida, because the normal fall of the tide is 
so slight. Growth being rapid, clusters form in a very 
short time, but when these are culled after tonging, the 
beds produce large and well- formed oysters. The ex- 
tensive waters of Lake Borgne to the north, into which 
Lake Pontchartrain empties, are too fresh for oyster 
growth. 

If one will consult his map, he will find, about twenty 
miles to the east of St. Bernard Parish,- and a slightly 
greater distawce south of the Mississippi shore, a long, 
crescent-shaped group of islands known as the Chan- 
deleurs. These, with the Errol group to the south of 
them, constitute a sand-spit nearly thirty-five miles 
long that encloses Chandeleur and Isle au Breton 
sounds. 

Strange sensations also await the explorer of these 
uninhabited and utterly lonely islands. Climbing to the 
top of one of the greater elevations — some twenty feet 
above the water — he sees about him a succession of 
mountains and valleys of silicious sand, many of them 
bearing mammoth vines and scattered grasses. For some 
reason that is difficult to define, one seems to stand among 
formations having all the appearances of great hills, val- 
leys and plains, but all in miniature; and the vivid imag- 
ination of childhood, lost and mourned by those who 
have had too much to do with realities, comes back un- 
bidden in a flood. Here, at least, in all the world, it is 
possible for a day to step back through the years, and, 
care-free, to explore the wonders of fairy-land. 

On the east, surT from the open Gulf breaks on a wide, 
firm beach, the monotony of which is broken by stranded 



The Gulf of Mexico 259 

tree-trunks floated out from shore, or hy the wreckage of 
vessels — for it is a dangerous region for the sailor. 

On the protected western side, the bottom is extremely 
shallow for a mile or more, and bears quantities of " eel- 
grass," while on the shore is a growth of thatch. One 
experiences a feeling of insecurity on discovering the 
shells of sand-dollars and other aquatic animals halfway 
up the sides of the sand hills, where they have recently 
been left by the waves of a storm, and there is at once re- 
called that terrible night, never to be forgotten in Louisi- 
ana, when the gay summer colonists of Dernier Isle were 
surprised by a tropical hurricane, and swept inland for a 
distance of many miles on furious waves from the Gulf. 

So seldom are the Chandeleur Islands visited that stilts 
and other birds, pattering over their western mud-flats, 
are almost without fear, and may be closely approached. 

The hundreds of square miles of bottom in Chandeleur 
Sound lie in less than eighteen feet of water. Whether 
any considerable part of it will ever be available for 
oyster culture cannot now be told, but according to fish- 
ermen, it formerly supported beds of considerable size. 
It is possible that liere, where some of the natural condi- 
tions seem to be different from those in the Gulf, oyster 
culture might be established. The territory is so great, 
and is so conveniently situated with reference to mar- 
kets, that experiments should be made to determine its 
possibilities. 

West of the mouth of the Mississippi, the character of 
the coast is much like that of the eastern side, for the en- 
tire lower part of the state many miles back from the 
water, is a swamp that rises very little above sea level. 
Here are extensive bays — Barataria, Timbalier, and Ter- 
rebonne — once the home waters of the pirate La Fitte, 



26o Our Food Mollusks 

a century ago the terror of the Gulf. These bays are 
now the busy scene of a rapidly growing oyster industry. 

The most important oyster grounds of the state are 
found west of the river in Terrebonne Parish, but nearly 
everywhere in this region they are becoming depleted, and 
are giving way to the more productive cultivated beds. 

The first move toward true oyster culture has always 
been the transplanting of culled oysters from natural 
beds to prepared bottoms where they may grow. This 
was practised many years ago in Louisiana by the lugger- 
men, and has been continued by others, often on leased 
ground. But true oyster culture — the capture of spat 
tliat would otherwise perish — is very easily accomplished 
in these waters, and since about 1885 a large number 
who have rented grounds from the state, have learned to 
spread oyster shells for this purpose. With the decrease 
of the natural beds, this practice is growing, and prom- 
ises much for the near future. 

To the present time, little effort has been made to cul- 
tivate oysters on very soft bottoms, of which there are 
great numbers situated where other conditions are favor- 
able for oyster grax^^i. Such bottoms have been re- 
claimed in Long Island Sound by the use of sand and 
gravel. But the bottoms here are often so soft and oozy 
that it is the common belief among o}'stermen that even 
shells would sink out of sight in them. 

Experiments conducted on these bottoms in 1904 by 
the writer, proved that this is not true, and that a firm 
pavement may be constructed on the softest silt. Li the 
open waters of the Gulf, where the mud was so soft and 
deep that a sounding pole was thrust into it to a depth of 
many feet with no effort, and from a boat under way, an 
extensive foundation of shells was prepared for an oyster 



The Gulf of Mexico 261 

bed. A coating from four to six inches deep was found 
to make a firm and permanent foundation. Experi- 
mental beds on ooze exposed by the tides, constructed of 
small shells, in layers two or three inches deep, remained 
in a firm layer on top of the mud, and without change, 
for at least a year. 

One of the most curious sights to be witnessed along 
the Louisiana coast is the immense accumulation of shells 
found rising above the water at many points. These are 
of several species of marine or brackish water bivalves, 
and on account of their small size, afford ideal material 
for seed collecting. Very few oysters can attach to a 
single shell, and, consequently, clusters cannot f-orm on 
them. In most cases but a single oyster will develop on 
each shell (Figures 52 and 53). 

To appreciate fully the great advantage that the 
Louisiana culturist might possess in these shells if he 
would use them, it must be stated that oyster growth in 
these warm waters is so rapid that a large cluster may 
form on an oyster shell in one year. To assume a size 
and shape that will fit them for market, these must be 
culled before further growth takes place. The labor of 
culling during the first year at least might be avoided 
by the use of these small shells. Their accumulations 
are of great extent, and often are so situated that planks 
may be extended from them directly to the deck of a 
schooner lying alongside. 

Yet this ideal cultch is used very little in Louisiana, 
oyster shells being preferred, perhaps because shell heaps 
at the canneries are convenient and must be disposed of. 
It is a pity that they should be used only to pave streets 
in New Orleans and Lake Charles. 

It is not possible with data that we now possess to 



262 Our Food MoUusks 

make a definite statement of the average rate of growth 
of oysters in any of the great oyster fields. One bay or 
river mouth may afiford advantages such as food, that a 
neighboring locality lacks, and growth here may be much 
more rapid than elsewhere. But the general practice of 
oystermen in Long Island Sound is to allow oysters to 
grow four, or very rarely three years, after the spat has 
been collected. 

Without doubt, in Louisiana waters, the average time 
required to produce a marketable oyster having a length 
of five or six inches, is at least a year shorter than in the 
northern field. Usually this size will be attained in 
three years from the time of attachment, and sometimes 
in two years. In Quarantine Bay, whole beds have been 
known to develop in eight months, oysters averaging 
nearly three inches in length. In Bayou Coquette, col- 
lectors have borne oysters more than two inches long in 
seven months. A piece of rock in the possession of the 
U. S. Bureau of Fisheries bears forty or fifty shells, all 
more than four inches long, that had grown in the waters 
of Bayou Schofield in twenty-three months. In many 
parts of Terrebonne Parish, oysters are said to attain 
marketable size in three years. It is said that in Bayou 
Cook, from which come most of the best oysters, the 
period of growth is but two years. So reliable and well 
informed an observer as Mr. H. F. Moore, of the Bureau 
of Fisheries, states that he has seen in Plaquemines 
Parish " oysters six inches long which, from known 
data, could not have been over twenty-three months old." 
No comment is necessary on the immense advantage pos- 
sessed by the Louisiana culturist in this short growing 
season. 

While starfish never molest oysters in this field, the 







^^^!3P^^I 




""^^N^^H^H 


^pnS^^I 


w^ 




^r ^1 


^ 




\^»J 



Fk;. 52. Shells of Area with young oysters attached. These 
shells are very numerous on parts of the Louisiana shore. 




Fig. 53. Single oysters attached to shells of a small clam. 
These shells make ideal collectors. They and the shells 
of an allied bivalve form great collections all along the 
Louisiana coast. 



The Gulf of Mexico 263 

(Irumfish is often destructive in some localities. The 
only certain protection against it is a stockade of pickets 
built about the beds, and such fences are often con- 
structed. It is n(jt, liovvever, a general practice on the 
oyster fields, and in most places there is little danger from 
this oyster destroyer. 

If it should ever be jKjssible t(^ cultivate oysters in 
Chandeleur Sound, steam vessels with large dredges 
might be em|)loycd, as in Long Island Sound. There is 
immense advantage in being able to gather large cargoes 
rapidly, and in all kinds of weather. One of tlie disad- 
vantages of the shallow waters in which oysters are now 
cultivated is that dredges can seldom be used, and the 
fishing must be done only with tongs. 

Now and then — though at intervals of several years — 
the Gulf coast is visited by appalling hurricanes, that 
shift the shallow bottoms and destroy great numbers of 
oyster beds. 

The most serious menace tr^ the industry in Louisiana 
is the flooding oi the fields with fresh water from crev- 
asses in the Mississippi Kiver. By consulting a map, it 
will be seen by tlie courses of the waterways, that any 
great break in the Mississippi levees below the mouth of 
tlie Red River, may threaten the oyster territory either 
on the east or west. The great Nita crevasse of 1890, 
still often referred to by the oystermen, poured its flood 
southward through Blind River, Lake Maurepas, Lake 
Pontchartrain, and Lake Borgne, and freshened the 
waters of St. Bernard Parish for so long a period that 
oysters were nearly exterminated over an immense area. 
The waters remained fresh for weeks, and the flood de- 
posited a large quantity of sediment. Other great 
crevasses have occurred, and some of them it has never 



264 Our Food MoUusks 

been possible to close. The map shows how flood waters 
from the Mississippi and the Red rivers may also be 
poured into the bays west of the delta. It should be said 
that, in the majority of instances of widespread destruc- 
tion by fresh water, the usual profuse set of young has 
occurred during the breeding season following, from 
adults that have escaped destruction in deep depressions 
in which the water remains salt. If the much discussed 
plan of improvement of the waterways of the entire Mis- 
sissippi basin by the federal government should be 
realized, this greatest danger to oyster culture in Louisi- 
ana would disappear — a fact that seems to have at- 
tracted little or no attention. 

The chief advantages possessed by the Louisiana cul- 
turist may thus be summarized : — Growth is much more 
rapid in the Gulf than elsewhere. This is due to the 
unusually large supply of diatoms found in the warm 
waters. They are plentiful enough to support an enor- 
mous oyster population. The growing season, also, is 
of long duration. 

There is nowhere anxiety lest the set of spat should 
fail. The collection of young is much more certain than 
in a colder climate. The chief reason for this probably is 
that sudden and extreme declines of temperature, and 
cold rains, that destroy so many swimming oysters in 
the north, do not occur here in the summer. Usually the 
salinity of the water is very favorable for reproduction 
over the entire field. Small shells, that may be used as 
collectors, are almost everywhere piled up on the shores. 
Gulf oysters have very few natural enemies, and none 
cause extensive or frequent losses. Winters are mild 
and short, so that the gathering of oysters is never dif- 
ficult on account of cold. 



The Gulf of Mexico 265 

There is ah-eady a much greater demand than can be 
met by the local supply. Louisiana oysters are favor- 
ably known as far north as Chicago, and a great market 
is waiting in the Mississippi valley, north and south. 
Even with present transportation facilities, New Orleans 
might readily obtain a large part of the Pacific trade in 
eastern oysters, if the Gulf were made to produce them. 

Little definite information exists concerning the oyster 
territory or the oyster industry before the year 1898. In 
that year the state legislature requested the U. S. Bureau 
of Fisheries to examine the oyster field. This was done, 
and in 1902 a state Oyster Commission was created. 
This has since been given powers that have made it the 
most effective body of its kind in the country. 

Its members receive adequate salaries, and give their 
entire attention to the work of building up the oyster in- 
dustry. It has been made a department of the state gov- 
ernment. It has authority to sue, and may be sued. It 
may buy, sell, or lease property, enact contracts, and do 
anything necessary to enforce the oyster laws. It adopts 
by-laws for its own government and that of its em- 
ployees. It enlarges and cares for natural beds, and 
protects lessees of private oyster grounds. It determines 
the limits of natural beds, and may use its own discre- 
tion in allowing the use of dredges on them. Its acts 
are subject to review by the courts. It has police power, 
and has organized an extremely efficient force. It has 
been granted large appropriations. Practically all of its 
recommendations have been acted on promptly by the 
legislature. In short, that body has had the great wis- 
dom to place tlie entire management of the industry in the 
hands of a few competent men, and to hold them re- 
sponsible for its success. 



266 Our Food Mollusks 

As might be expected, their success has been very 
great. In two years after the appointment of the Com- 
mission, the number of leased acres increased from 2,820 
to 23,303, and since then has steadily grown. Produc- 
tion, also, is now increasing rapidly, and new packing 
houses are being established. The oyster laws are being 
enforced, lessees are being protected, and the commission 
reports that there is " a notable absence of any disposi- 
tion to violate the oyster law or the regulations of this 
Commission." This is all so unusual and so refreshing 
that it mig-ht well be commended to the attention of stu- 
dents of popular government. There is much to be 
learned from the practical wisdom of Louisiana. 

It should be interesting to those who make the laws of 
some other states to witness in Louisiana the subsidence 
of the fear of an oyster monopoly. This at one time 
Was acute, but since even corporations — Louisiana cor- 
porations, it is true — have been allowed to lease a thou- 
sand acres, and leases have been made heritable and 
transferable, no indication of a monopoly has appeared. 
The " poor man " with ten acres, benefits by the improved 
markets as he does in Connecticut. The fear of an 
" oyster trust " is so nearly dead that the time will prob- 
ably come when outside capital will be invited, and the 
limit on leases extended or removed altogether. 

Leases are made at a dollar an acre each year for fif- 
teen years. For the ten years following, the rental is 
two dollars an acre annually. After that, the value of 
the property shall be assessed, and such rental shall be 
paid " as conditions shall warrant." There is a tax of 
three cents a bushel on oysters produced on leased 
ground. 

There is no close season on the leased grounds, and no 



The Gulf of Mexico 267 

restriction is placed on implements that may be used by 
lessees. 

One admirable section of the law is that instructing the 
Oyster Commission to publish and distribute copies of the 
act, and to publish its rules and regulations, as they are 
adopted, in its official journal, chosen from among the 
daily papers of New Orleans. 

Among other interesting provisions is that reserving 
bottoms for scientific experiment near the biologic sta- 
tion at Cameron. The state seems to have placed much 
confidence in the work of biologists, whom it has invited 
to study the natural conditions existing on its oyster 
fields. 

In Texas, the most western of the Gulf states, prac- 
tically the entire coast is bounded by a narrow water 
zone that, in turn, is separated from the Gulf by a low 
bank. In many parts of this confined area, conditions 
are favorable for oyster growth. One hundred and 
forty square miles of Matagorda Bay, probably compris- 
ing the best of the natural oyster area of the state, has 
been surveyed by the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries, and its 
scattered and limited beds have been charted. It was 
shown by the expert in charge of the survey that the 
natural beds would supply only a limited number of 
oysters. There is every reason, however, to believe that 
oyster culture might be successfully practised over a 
much greater area than that occupied by the natural 
growth, and, on the whole, the oyster laws are favorable 
for its development. 

One advanced feature of the state oyster law is that 
permitting any citizen of the United States, or any Texas 
corporation, to lease bottoms. This approaches the legal 
provisions of Connecticut. The lease, however, is lim- 



268 Our Food Mollusks 

ited to six hundred and forty acres. As yet there have 
been few appHcations for oyster grounds, though there 
is httle opposition to the system. 

It may be expected, in view of the growing demand for 
oysters, that the shore of Texas will soon possess culti- 
vated beds, and though the supply may not seek distant 
markets, it may be great enough for a time to satisfy the 
requirements of that rapidly growing state, which, how- 
ever, is truly an empire in itself. 




CHAPTER XVII 

THE PACIFIC FIELD 

NSIDE waters are so numerous all along the 
Atlantic coast that a few short canals would 
provide an enclosed navigable waterway from 
Massachusetts Bay nearly to the South Caro- 
lina line. Some of the Gulf shore is similarly protected 
by outlying spits and islands. But the Pacific coast, 
from the entrance to Puget Sound southward to Mexico, 
is entirely different, being straight, unbroken, and un- 
protected. There are few enclosed bays or even har- 
bors on this great stretch of coast, the only extensive 
ones being Puget Sound, in Washington, and San Fran- 
cisco Bay, in California. 

The same species of plants and animals are not found 
in Atlantic and Pacific, but more or less distantly related 
forms. The class Asteroidea, of zoological classifica- 
tion, for example, is represented by several species of 
starfish in one ocean, and by somewhat different kinds 
in the other. The eastern oyster, Ostrea virginica, is re- 
placed on the Pacific coast by another species of the same 
genus known as Ostrea lurida. On the Mexican coast 
are still other species. 

Ostrea lurida is much smaller than the eastern oyster, 
and differs from it also in having a light, thin shell, and 
in being hermaphroditic, a condition in which each in- 
dividual produces both male and female cells. In the im- 

269 



270 Our Food Mollusks 

portant commercial matter of taste, all oysters are much 
alike. 

Several Atlantic animals have been introduced into the 
Pacific, and have established themselves. Among them 
are the shad, striped bass, and the soft or long neck 
clam. For many years, also, small eastern oysters have 
been planted in the bays of Washington and Cali- 
fornia, where they grow to marketable size in three 
or four years. They, however, have not become 
established. 

Entering the Golden Gate in California, the water 
spreads north and south to form San Francisco Bay. 
Into it flow many streams, some of them large like the 
Sacramento from the north. The water is consequently 
brackish and favorable for the growth of the native 
oyster, which is found here in great numbers. Perhaps 
because this oyster is very prolific and because there is 
much crowding on the natural beds, it attains scarcely 
half the size to which it develops in Willapa Bay, and 
consequently is not often marketed. 

In Puget Sound and Willapa Bay in Washington, the 
transplanting or bedding of the native oyster has become 
an extensive industry. Some years ago, the state of 
Washington set aside immense tracts in these bays, desig- 
nating them as " Oyster Reserves." On parts of these 
were natural oyster beds. It was intended that from 
them oysters should be taken only for the purpose of 
planting on barren bottoms, and not for immediate 
sale. 

But the state has not been able to police these grounds 
and enforce the provisions of the laws, and has received 
very little revenue from licenses issued to tongers. The 
public beds in Puget Sound are infested with starfish, 



The Pacific Field 271 

which the stale authorities have not attempted to destroy, 
and, as in all similar cases, the bottoms are rapidly be- 
coming depleted. 

As yet, true oyster culture — the capture of young on 
collectors, and their subsequent planting — has hardly 
been attempted in these waters. Instead, seed has been 
obtained entirely from natural beds, three or four years 
being required for its growth. Much of the planting 
is done on bottoms that are exposed at low water. The 
capture of the swimming native oyster may easily be ac- 
complished, however, in favorable localities near breed- 
ing individuals, and with the decline of the natural beds 
the method will undoubtedly be resorted to. 

About twenty thousand acres of barren bottoms have 
been sold to individuals or to corporations, but few have 
been planted. From them, seventy thousand sacks of 
native oysters, each containing about two bushels, are 
marketed annually. The destruction of San Francisco, 
which had consumed a large part of the Washington har- 
vest, temporarily affected the market, but as in every 
other oyster field in the country, there is now an increas- 
ing demand for this universally appreciated food. 

Live eastern oysters were first sent to the Pacific coast 
at San Francisco about 1870, on the completion of the 
first transcontinental railroad. These were sometimes 
bedded in San Francisco Bay, to be removed for sale, 
and were found to thrive. Afterward it became an 
established practice to ship small seed from New York 
for planting in this bay, and the industry has continued 
and assumed large proportions. 

Eastern oysters are usually planted on mud flats that 
are exposed at low tide. So placed, they may easily be 
fenced in and protected from the attacks of a sting-ray 



272 Our Food Mollusks 

that abounds in the bay during the summer. Seed 
oysters reach a marketable size in three or four years. 

It was not until 1894 that eastern oyster seed was 
planted in Willapa Bay. This shoal body of water is 
twenty-five miles long, and has an average width of about 
five miles. It has always been a famous bedding place 
for native oysters. Eastern seed from Maryland, New 
Jersey and Long Island, planted here by the U. S. Fish 
Commission, grew as well as in San Francisco Bay. A 
hundred car-loads of seed oysters, varying in size from a 
quarter of an inch to an inch and a half in diameter, 
are sometimes planted in a year. During the last few 
years eastern oysters have been planted in Puget Sound, 
but not yet in large numbers. 

In spite of the fact that freight charges on eastern 
seed amount to five hundred, or at times to more than 
^ seven hundred dollars a car, the trade is growing on the 
^ Pacific coast. Retail prices are necessarily high. 

It is a fact of economic as well as of biologic interest 
that these transported oysters do not often reproduce in 
Jtacific waters. To the present time, not a case of at- 
tachment by a swimming eastern oyster has been ob- 
served in the state of Washington. In 1889, however, 
it was discovered by an investigator of the U. S. Fish 
Commission that they were breeding in a few places at 
the south end of San Francisco Bay, and hopes were en- 
tertained that they might become well established there. 
These hopes have not been fulfilled. 

The adverse condition in this case is probably the low 
temperature of the water. The fact may not be well 
known on the eastern coast that the waters of northern 
California, of Oregon, and of Washington are, during 
the summer, as icy as those of Maine. There is little 



The Pacific Field 273 

variation in temperature during the year. In the 
Atlantic, a set of spat is rarely obtained if the water tem- 
perature often falls much below 70° F. during the breed- 
ing season. Failure of the set is common in the north- 
ern field, probably because of rapid declines in tempera- 
ture from cold summer rains. 

On the Pacific coast, even in the bays, the maximum 
summer temperature of the water rarely exceeds 70°, and 
at most places the average is nearer 60°. It is not to be 
expected, then, that eastern oysters may reproduce in 
these waters. But in some of the creek mouths of San 
Francisco Bay, the shallow water is kept warm by the 
sun, and it is in them that reproduction has been ob- 
served. 

Perhaps it is possible that the species might be ac- 
climatized to a lower temperature, but this could be ef- 
fected only in several generations. There is no reason 
to expect that any constitutional change that might ac- 
custom any individual oyster to its new surroundings, 
would restore its lost fertility. But it may be that the 
species could again be made fertile by following the 
selection method of breeders of domesticated animals 
and plants. After careful observation of summer tem- 
perature, bottoms might be selected over which the mini- 
mum was somewhat below 70°. If large numbers of 
eastern oysters were planted here, some individuals might 
possibly be found to possess the constitutional power of 
breeding at a slightly lower temperature than that re- 
quired by the majority. Whether this is true or not in 
this case has never been observed, but similar individual 
differences have been found and taken advantage of in 
the cases of many other organisms. 

If now some individuals of the first generation should 



274 Our Food Mollusks 

liave produced offspring, and these were captured on col- 
lectors, this second generation might be planted in an 
isolated locality. If few in number, the water should be 
of the same temperature as before. If numerous, they 
might be placed in slightly colder water. It might be 
assumed, from analogous cases observed in other organ- 
sims, that some of the individuals of this second gen- 
eration would exhibit a still greater power to breed in a 
low temperature than that possessed by their parents. 
In water of the same temperature as that in the first ex- 
periment, also, the average fertility would have become 
greater. 

In the same manner, the third generation, if numerous 
in individuals, could be planted in still colder water. Per- 
haps only a few of these could breed, but if any were able 
to do so, the offspring again would exhibit the power to 
withstand the increasing cold, and this might be carried 
on until all surviving individuals would be able to propa- 
gate anywhere in the cold Pacific coast waters. 

Whether such an experiment would succeed, cannot be 
predicted. Much would depend on the judgment of the 
experimenter and on the facilities at his command. But 
on account of the superiority of the eastern oyster as a 
food mollusk, it may be an experiment worth a trial. 

The production of native and Atlantic oysters in Wil- 
lapa Bay and Puget Sound is increasing rapidly. The 
red-blooded generation of men that has made this won- 
derful region its home, is losing no opportunity to 
develop its natural resources. It is said that the annual 
profits on some oyster farms have reached a thousand 
dollars an acre. Such achievements have naturally at- 
tracted the attention of investors. Numerous stock com- 
panies have been formed, and have purchased barren 



The Pacific Field 275 

bottoms. In many cases, after the manner of modern 
business, stock in these companies has been greatly 
over-capitalized. Some companies have sold stock and 
have failed even to begin to operate. Most failures have 
resulted from the fact that no attention has been given 
to the habits of the oysters, or to biological conditions 
existing over the bottoms purchased. 

But where intelligence has united with an honest desire 
to succeed, large dividends have been paid to stockhold- 
ers by many companies, and the time probably is not far 
distant when the available bottoms will be made to pro- 
duce a large harvest. 

Several years ago the important suggestion was made 
that the large oyster cultivated in Japan might be intro- 
duced on our Pacific coast. It is a larger and better 
oyster than the native form. Neither state nor federal 
authorities have performed the experiment, but in- 
dividuals have made several attempts in the state of 
Washington. What successes they have attained, how- 
ever, have not been made public. 




CHAPTER XVIII 

THE SOFT CLAM— DISTRIBUTION AND 
CONDITIONS CONTROLLING IT 

INCE the earliest times the soft, or long neck 
clam has held a place in public esteem on the 
north Atlantic coast above all food mollusks 
but the oyster, and in recent years it has be- 
come even more highly prized than formerly. One 
curious reason for this growing appreciation is the fact 
that it is becoming scarce. It has always been observed 
that a leading characteristic of human nature is to desire 
most strongly anything that is denied. On the other 
hand, the abundant things are not often esteemed. The 
flounder, very abundant on the north Atlantic coast, is 
one of the finest of salt water fishes, yet the native of the 
Maine shore will seldom use it on his table if a morning 
of hard labor will bring him a tough and tasteless cod 
or haddock. He may catch the flounder without effort 
at his dock on any rising tide, but must go outside and 
fish patiently for his cod. 

All along the New England shore, the soft clam was 
once extremely abundant, as we learn from the quaint 
records of the early colonists. Well into the nineteenth 
century, beaches and flats continued to be crowded 
with them. With the growth of the fisheries, they were 
dug in increasing numbers for bait, and some jfere used 
for food. They have continued to be valuable chiefly as 
fish bait, but during the last decade, especially, the deli- 

276 



The Soft Clam 277 

cious clam chowder has become popular, and now, a 
hundred miles inland from the New England shore, no 
outing of a Mystic Order or Barber's Picnic is complete 
without its clam bake, in which both soft and hard clams 
are used. When one has the time for it, nothing on the 
bill of fare of a restaurant is more tempting than the 
dish of steamed soft clams with the cup of melted 
butter. 

From the time when Captain John Smith wrote, " You 
shall scarce find any Baye, Shallow Shore or Cove of 
Sand, wyere you may not take many Clampes," to a quar- 
ter of a century ago, many New England farmers living 
near the shore made it a practice to fatten their hogs on 
clams. 

Though the soft clam is sometimes found below the 
low water line, it usually lies buried several inches be- 
neath the surface of bottoms that are exposed at low tide. 
It is found on narrow beaches, where only a few yards 
of bottom are uncovered, but the larger beds are situated 
on great flats. There are many places on the New Eng- 
land coast wdiere the low tide exposes hundreds of acres 
of continuous flats, and most of these at one time bore 
enormous beds of clams. It seems incredible that dig- 
ging alone could liave destroyed them, and yet without 
question, this is almost the sole cause of the nearly com- 
plete destruction that has occurred on almost all of these 
immense beds. There is no such thing as an inexhausti- 
ble supply of organisms useful to man. 

In Massachusetts, extensive flats are perhaps more 
numerous than in other New England states. From the 
mouth of the Merrimac River an almost continuous flat 
extends southward to Gloucester, a distance of fifteen 
miles. In Boston Harbor and the other bays connected 



278 Our Food Mollusks 

with it on the south, miles of flats are exposed at low 
tide, and one may stand at Plymouth and look north- 
ward toward Duxbury on to a flat that stretches away for 
nearly seven miles, and is approximately four and a half 
miles wide. 

Only a few decades ago, a very large part of these 
immense areas bore clams. Many are still taken near 
Newburyport on the Merrimac, and near Boston, but 
the famous Duxbury and Plymouth flat is practically un- 
productive. Less extensive areas, that formerly pro- 
duced clams, are now barren almost without exception. 

For several years the same has been true of Con- 
necticut and Rhode Island, and the market has depended 
on the state of Maine for its supply. Here the shore is 
high and rocky, and beaches and flats where clams may 
grow are comparatively few and small. As the Maine 
clam beds had been little dug until recently, they produced 
a large supply for a few seasons, but now are far on the 
way to destruction. Neither ice and the extreme cold 
of the long winter, nor the close season during the three 
summer months, that has been in force for a number of 
years, has prevented the rapid decline of the industry in 
Maine. 

Outside of New England, on the Atlantic coast, the 
soft clam has never been very abundant, though many 
were found about Long Island and in the New Jersey 
bays. It is essentially a cold water form, and the south- 
ern limit of its range is the coast of South Carolina. It 
is found in parts of Chesapeake Bay, but is there used as 
food only by the poorer residents of the shore. From 
Maine it extends northward to the Arctic Ocean, where 
the seal, walrus, and polar bear sometimes feed on it. It 
is also found on the northern coasts of Europe and Asia. 



The Soft Clam 279 

It is in New England that the soft clam is most prized, 
and during- the cold months it is marketed ahve in the in- 
terior towns as well as on the coast. It does not live long 
out of water in warm weather, but in a temperature near 
the freezing point, will keep alive for weeks. Near the 
shore it is eaten during the summer, steamed and baked 
and in chowders. Immense numbers are cooked and 
canned, suiTering much less change of flavor in the 
process than oysters do, and the solid " meats " and 
chowders thus prepared are shipped to all the northern 
states. Recently, also, " clam juice," the mucus drained 
from the bodies of shucked clams, has been canned or 
bottled, and is widely used as a broth, especially by in- 
valids, for with most persons it is readily digested, and 
its flavor is pleasant. 

Exactly as in the case of the oyster, this, one of the 
most valuable of marine foods, has so nearly approached 
destruction that it is time to plan for its future produc- 
tion by artificial means. By aiding nature, the shores 
have been made to produce more and better oysters than 
they ever bore when uncared for by man. As yet, clam 
culture has not been practised on a commercial scale, 
but for a number of years the preliminary study of the 
creature's life history and habits has been carried on un- 
der the auspices of the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries, and 
by the state commissions of Massachusetts and Rhode 
Island, and the result, as was expected, is that a method 
of culture has been devised and tested, and has proved 
to be entirely successful. Not only is this true, but it has 
proved to be very much easier and cheaper to rear the 
soft clam than the oyster, as will be shown. When the 
conservative New England states become sufficiently 
aroused to repeal their antiquated and absurd colonial 



28o Our Food Mollusks 

laws governing beach rights, and are ready to formulate 
new ones giving irrevocable titles to clam bottoms, the 
clam industry will quickly become established on a safe 
basis, and its growth will be rapid. This battle for 
property rights on the shore, and for protection, has 
been fought and won by the oystermen, and to the satis- 
faction of all; and it must be fought in the same way by 
the prospective clam culturists. The result will be the 
same, and immense wealth will be produced from lands 
now entirely barren and useless. 

Common names given to plants and animals are local, 
while the technical or " scientific names " that often 
cause so much popular amusement by their length or un- 
familiar sound, are universal names. A form is often 
given one common name in one locality, and others else- 
where. The large mouthed black bass, for example, is 
also called the Oswego bass in the North, while the same 
fish is known as the trout in some of the southern states. 
At least thirty other common names are given to this 
fish in different localities. Along the shore, the name 
dogfish refers to a species of shark, while inland it desig- 
nates a very distantly related form. The lay reader may 
readily appreciate the necessity of a technical and uni- 
versally employed system for the naming of a species, if 
he will consider the case of the clam. The name clam 
north of Cape Cod usually refers simply to Mya arenaria, 
though it may, in some localities, designate Mactra 
solidissima, the sea clam. From Rhode Island to the 
Carolinas the term might refer not only to Mya and 
Venus (the little neck, hard clam, or quahaug), but to 
half a dozen allied forms. From Florida to Texas, 
Venus, Pecten (the scallop), Pholas, Gnathodon, and 
several others are " clams." Not only does one term 



The Soft Clam 281 

refer to many forms, but a single form may have several 
names. Mya, in different localities, is known as the 
clam, the soft clam, the long neck, long clam, scjuirt clam, 
and in England as the sand gasper, and old maid. In 
France, Norway, Korea, and Japan, it of course has 
many other names. To use only ^'ernacular names in 
zoological writings evidently would lead to the utmost 
confusion, so biologists the world over employ a com- 
mon nomenclature, and when an English book or paper 
refers to ]\Iya arenaria, the Japanese student who reads 
it has no doubt as to the species that is meant. 

Each species is given two names, the first or generic, 
being a family name, and the second a species name. In 
New England waters we have two scallops, closely re- 
lated, but differing in some characters. The generic or 
family name of these is Pecten (begun with a capital), 
and the two species are distinguished as Pecten tenuicos- 
tatus (the species name begun with a small letter) and 
Pecten irradians. 

With this lengthy explanation, we may consider se- 
curely some of the habits of Mya arenaria — or Mya for 
short, for there are no other species on our shores with 
which it is apt to be confused; or if, from force of habit, 
we return to " clam," the name at present is to mean 
Mya. 

Mya spends the greater part of its life buried in the 
mud or sand. Large individuals sometimes burrow to a 
depth of more than a foot. Food and oxygen must 
continually be gotten from the water, so the creature 
reaches up to it by means of its siphon tubes, the ends of 
which may be seen when the bottom is nearly exposed. 
W'hen the water is cjuite gone, these siphon ends are 
slightly retracted from the surface, and leave a depression 



282 Our Food MoUusks 

or hole. By the size and number of these pits, the dig- 
ger may judge whether his labor is likely to be worth 
while. 

Such a bottom is well illustrated by Figure 54, where 
individuals happen to be very numerous. Thougli most 
of the pits are relatively large, one cannot always be cer- 
tain that all clams forming them are also large, for often 
a pit is used by several individuals in common. These 
lie at different depths according to size, the larger occu- 
pying the lower le\'els. This distribution allows an im- 
mense number of clams to crowd together where there is 
food enough to support them all. The clams shown in 
Figure 55, for example, were all dug from beneath a 
single square foot of a prolific bed. 

The bottom in which clams burrow is not always 
muddy. Most often it is made up largely of sand mixed 
with mud or clay, and at times they are found in al- 
most clear sand. In the latter case the shells, instead of 
being discolored as in muddy bottoms, are pure white. 
In some localities, usually on sandy beaches, lime is not 
abundant, and shells are thin. Such clams are known as 
" paper shells." 

When a clam bed is dug frequently, many are killed 
by the fork or hoe, and subsequently become covered. 
Their decaying bodies stain the surrounding sand a 
pitchy black, and give it an offensive odor, so that clam 
digging is not always a pleasant occupation. If clams 
are very closely crowded, especially where tide currents 
are sluggish, the decay of several bodies leads to the 
death of others, indirectly by the formation of com- 
pounds that eat through the lime of the shells, and ap- 
parently also directly by poisoning or infection. 

Mya sometimes lodges and burrows in places quite in- 




Fig. 54. Holes of long-neck clams very thickly set in a beach. 
From a Report of the Mass. Fish and Game Commission 
by D. L. Belding. 







Fig. 55. Long-neck clams dug from beneath one square foot 
of a flat. Such a yield is very unusual. The ruler has a 
length of six inches. From a Report of the Mass. Fish and 
Game Commission, l^v T. R. Stevenson. 



The Soft Clam 283 

accessible to the clammer. Beaches so covered with large 
stones that the ground can be dug only with great labor, 
often hide clams in large numbers. They also settle and 
burrow among the thatch plants near the high water 
mark, and are safe in the dense feltwork of roots. 

It is interesting to watch an expert clammer at his 
back-breaking work, and to observe its effect on the clams 
that remain where the bottom has been disturbed. The 
implement used in digging is a short fork with four or 
five tines bent at right angles to the handle. This is 
forced down with one hand placed near the head, and 
the dirt is thrown back between the digger's feet. In this 
way, clams too small to be placed in the basket are cov- 
ered with loose dirt or left exposed. 

When the tide comes in, the dirt piles are leveled some- 
what. As soon as the buried clams feel the water, they 
right themselves so as to bring the posterior ends of the 
shells upward, and push the fleshy siphon tube toward 
the water, which few of them fail to reach, unless 
severely injured. It appears from this that no harm is 
done the survivors when a clam bed is dug, except the 
unfortunate individuals that have accidentally been 
crushed by the fork. Indeed, they are benefited by the 
removal of competitors for food, and by the partial wash- 
ing and purification of the bottom in which they lie. 

But what becomes of the unfortunates that are re- 
jected by the clammer and left on the surface? Some of 
them may be nearly three inches long. Smaller ones 
will usually be numerous, and if it is summer, a careful 
examination may reveal individuals a quarter, an eighth, 
a twentieth of an inch long, and even so small as hardly 
to be distinguished from sand grains. These lie without 
movement until touched by the water, and if the oppor- 



284 Our Food Mollusks 

tunity presents itself the larger ones may be seized by 
herring gulls, carried into the air, and dropped on rocks, 
in order to break the shells. 

As soon as the water comes, all the uninjured ones be- 
come active and attempt to burrow into the bottom. 
This is accomplished by the fleshy foot, which is thrust 
out from between the shell valves near their anterior 
ends. Because the foot is relatively very large and ex- 
tensible in smaller individuals, those between one-eighth 
and half an inch long cover themselves in a very few 
minutes. With a foot relatively smaller, clams from 
one to two inches long require from half to three-quar- 
ters of an hour to effect a lodgment, but they reach the 
usual depth of several inches only after long-continued 
effort. Very large clams are able to project the foot so 
short a distance that they are often not able even to 
touch the ground with it, and after a brief effort to do so, 
close the shell and lie helpless until destroyed by crabs 
and fishes, or by birds and mammals, that pick up a liv- 
ing on the shore at low tide. 

When the human factor is left out of the account, the 
life of the adult clam appears to be as monotonous and 
uneventful — " happy," most commenters have it — as pos- 
sible. After reaching maturity, the creature, if undis- 
turbed, never leaves its burrow, being quite unable to 
do so. Its early life, however, like that of the oyster, 
is so full of adventure that not one in millions attains the 
safety of the bottom. 

Like all other organisms, Mya requires for its ex- 
istence many conditions of a precise and definite sort. By 
long experience and observation the oyster culturist has 
learned that the oyster will grow and reproduce itself 
only in water of a certain density and temperature, and 



The Soft Clam 285 

on bottoms bearing clean objects for the attachment of 
the young. Some of these same conditions are also re- 
cjuired by Mya, but many are different. The more im- 
portant ones that have been observed, may be men- 
tioned briefly. 

Even on a flat that has not been greatly modified by 
man, it will be seen that clams do not grow everywhere. 
A little observation may reveal the reason, or reasons, for 
the existence of these barren patches. Perhaps ripple 
marks have been left here by the retreating tide. That 
means that the surface sand is loose, and shifts easily 
under the action of waves or currents. Now if clams 
were planted on such a bottom, it would be found that 
when sand grains, carried by the water, touched the 
sensory tentacles at the end of the incurrent siphon open- 
ing, the whole organ would be withdrawn for a greater 
or less distance into the burrow. Into the pit thus left, 
the sand gradually settles, and is densely packed. Ap- 
parently clams are not able to push this sand out. It is 
not so easy a task as that of pushing the siphons through 
loose sand or mud piled up by the clam digger on the 
surface of the ground, and the creatures are smothered. 

Therefore, if one is to become a clam culturist, one 
of the first things he must do is to select a bottom for 
his clam bed that has a tenacious soil. Even when he 
has found a bottom that does not shift under ordinary 
conditions, he should remember that great gales, that 
may be expected from definite directions, may tear it up 
if it is in a position to be exposed to them. The No- 
vember gale of 1898, from which time is sometimes reck- 
oned on the New England coast, made many remarkable 
changes in clam flats all along the shore. Many beds 
were overwhelmed v/ith sand or smothered with eel-grass 



286 Our Food Mollusks 

and mud, and most of these were permanently destroyed. 
Storms of such magnitude occur only once in a life- 
time, but more common ones, if less terrible, are often 
destructive. 

Soil is rendered tenacious in several ways. First, 
when sand is found to be mixed with fine sediments, its 
grains are often held together by this cementing sub- 
stance. Clay, the finest of sediments, is very resistant 
to the erosive action of water, and is often found on 
flats and beaches. Another important agency in render- 
ing the surface tenacious, and thus preventing the shift- 
ing of particles, is the growth of algae, which forms a 
close, thin mat over some surfaces. The presence of 
this dark, green crust gives a flakey or cake-like ap- 
pearance to the bottom. The plants do not extend deep 
into the sand, but bind the surface grains closely enough 
to prevent their movement even in strong currents. The 
growth of alga; seems to be best where tides move with 
some force, and such a combination of firm bottom and 
fairly strong currents, bearing abundant food, affords 
the best conditions for clam growth. When such a bed 
is dug, the coating of algae again forms over the surface 
within a very short time. 

Again, under natural conditions, one observes that 
sometimes a growth of thatch plants will convert a vvaste 
of sand into a clam bed. Thatch is found on many flats 
between tide lines. The plants grow close together, their 
blades rising to a height of two or three feet, and their 
roots forming a feltwork beneath the surface. In this 
mass of vegetation, clams are often abundant, even when 
the soil is almost pure sand and the currents rapid. They 
are able to establish themselves because the plants pre- 
vent a shifting of sand. On account of the wire-like 



The Soft Clam 287 

roots, it is difficult to dig these tracts, but in such beds 
there is preserved a great number of breeding individuals 
that may restock neighboring beds rendered barren by- 
excessive digging. 

Mya, like the oyster and all other lamellibranchs or bi- 
valves, feeds almost entirely on diatoms that are carried 
in countless numbers by the brackish tide currents. 
Other conditions being favorable, the number of clams 
tliat may exist on any area, depends on the amount of 
food that they are able to obtain. It is evident, also, that 
the quantity of nourishment will depend on the amount 
of water that passes over the bed, as Mobius, the Dutch 
biologist, pointed out many years ago. Hence a tide 
current passing over a bottom that is firm enough to be 
undisturbed by it, is more conducive to rapid growth than 
quiet water. This theoretical assumption has been 
abundantly proved by experiments with Mya, as with the 
oyster. Rapidity of current, within certain limits, de- 
termines, in large measure, the number of clams that 
mav exist on a given area, and also the rate of their 
growth. So, in selecting a bed for artificial culture, a 
bottom should be chosen over which there is a free move- 
ment of water. 

An interesting and suggestive condition existing on 
most clam flats, is found in the close crowding of in- 
dividuals over certain areas. If such a tract is kept un- 
der observation, it will sometimes be found that, for 
years, the numbers remain nearly constant, while growth 
seems to have ceased, and there seem never to be any but 
small clams. Food is sufficient for the existence of a 
certain number, each apparently being able to get its 
share, but none obtaining enough for growth. Such a 
balance has often been observed. 



288 Our Food Mollusks 

Experiments on such dense segregations of clams have 
also revealed the fact that if numbers are reduced by dig- 
ging, the remaining individuals begin to grow. The 
conclusion is that the judicious and intelligent digging 
of a clam bed is beneficial to it. All clammers will agree 
with this statement. It is the same condition that all are 
familiar with in a garden of vegetables. Lettuce plants 
or radishes will fail to develop if too closely crowded. A 
densely planted bed must be thinned in order to do well. 
The real difficulty on our natural clam beds has been 
that no one has cared to thin the garden and transplant 
the superfluous individuals on barren ground for fear 
he would receive no return for his labor; and this fear, of 
course, has its justification. Such an improvement over 
the process of nature would be effected if the clammer 
were given the same lawful right to a bit of beach that 
he has to his vegetable garden, or that the oysterman 
has finally succeeded in obtaining in the deeper water 
of many of the coast states for his oyster beds. It is a 
short-sighted policy that denies such rights to citizens 
who desire to make productive, tracts that are now waste 
places. 

It will be remembered that one of the most important 
conditions governing the existence of the oyster is the 
salinity of the water. The process of reproduction espe- 
cially, depends on a proper degree of saltness, and its 
range apparently is confined within rather narrow limits. 
With Mya, these limits are very much wider. Clams 
will grow and reproduce normally in water almost as salt 
as that of the open sea, as well as in that which is nearly 
fresh. The limits of salinity where this has been ob- 
served are 1.024 ^^d 1.005, these being the averages of 
several observations made during the summer while re- 



The Soft Clam 289 

production was occurring. Not only is this true, but it 
has been shown by experiment that clams may be trans- 
planted from waters of one of these extremes to the other 
apparently without being in the least affected by the 
change. In this respect, as in others, the artificial culture 
of clams will prove to be much simpler than the culture 
of oysters. 

Enemies of the adult clam are few. It is more dif- 
ficult to gather a bushel of seed clams than of seed 
oysters, but when the former have attained a lodgment 
in the bottom they are safe from all foes, while the latter 
are never entirely safe. On a few occasions, snail-like 
mollusks have been observed to dig two or three inches 
beneath the surface of a clam flat, and to devour im- 
bedded clams, but not one shell in thousands dug 
from clam beds will show the hole drilled by these ani- 
mals. There is no reason to believe that any other ani- 
mal ever attacks them in their burrows. The very 
young, however, before they are able to cover themselves, 
are preyed on by several forms. 

It will therefore be necessary for the clam culturist to 
give close attention to the character of the bottom and 
to tide currents, when selecting grounds for his opera- 
tions. In many cases the existence of proper conditions 
will be proved by the presence of natural beds; but on 
many tracts now barren all natural requirements are met, 
and all that is needed is the planting of seed clams. To 
be able to recognize such areas will, obviously, be of 
great advantage. Unfavorable conditions on other bot- 
toms also may be overcome. Even shifting sand might 
perhaps be reclaimed by a covering of firmer soil. The 
oyster culturist has several such achievements to his 
credit. 




CHAPTER XIX 

THE LIFE HISTORY OF THE SOFT CLAM 

N Mya, as in the oyster of our Atlantic coast, 
the sexes are separate. South of Cape Cod 
W/.-U the breeding season begins about the middle 
of June, reaches its height during the last two 
weeks of July, and continues until September. North 
of Cape Cod the season begins somewhat later, probably 
on account of the difference in temperature. 

As in most other bivalves, male and female cells are 
extruded into the water, where they unite. As might be 
expected, the early stages of development are similar 
to those of the oyster, resulting in the formation of a 
swimming embryo that rotates spirally as it passes 
through the water. When the embryonic shell appears, 
the animal has a diameter of about one three-hundredth 
of an inch. The entire swimming period covers from 
three to six days, varying considerably with changes in 
the temperature of the water. A fall of temperature 
checks, and a rise to a certain optimum accelerates de- 
velopment. The numbers over some flats during the 
height of the reproductive season are very great. A 
small surface net a foot in diameter, on being towed a 
hundred yards through the water, has been observed to 
capture from twenty-five to thirty thousand of the swim- 
ming young. 

At this time the young are undoubtedly destroyed in 

290 



The Life History of the Soft Clam 291 

great numbers by many swimming enemies, and Mr. D. 
L. Belding, Biologist of the Massachusetts Fish and 
Game Commission, has recently made observations 
which show that cold rains are very fatal to them. 
" During a long, cold rain," he writes, " counts were 
made of the number of larvae in a certain amount of 
water which passed through the plankton net : before 
the rain, 30,000; after nine hours, 15,000; after fifteen 
hours, 3,000. After the rain had ceased, the number of 
larvae gradually increased until it was the same as at 
the first count." This is interesting, because the varia- 
tion in the " set " in different years seems, as in the case 
of the oyster, to be best explained by these and other sud- 
den lowerings of temperature during the swimming 
period. 

From this time on, the habits of the young clam be- 
come very different from those of the young oyster of 
the same age. While the latter settles and at once be- 
comes fixed to some foreign object for the rest of its life, 
the young My a must still expose itself to many dangers 
before reaching a safe resting-place in the bottom. 

During the later part of the swimming stage, a well 
developed, muscular foot appears, extending along the 
whole lower or ventral side of the body. It is now rela- 
tively very large, as it is in the adult hard clam or little 
neck, but later it will become proportionately much re- 
duced in size. Siphon and gills, also, have made their 
appearance. The velum, a projecting pad covered with 
the swimming cilia, gradually disappears, and the small 
clam settles to the bottom. 

During the few days of the swimming period, the 
young clam may have been carried some distance from its 
starting-point, not only by its power of locomotion, but 



292 Our Food Mollusks 

passively by tide currents; but because the young always 
settle in considerable numbers on old natural beds, some 
of those carried away by the retreating tide must be 
brought back by the flood. But in selecting bottoms for 
artificial beds, localities possibly might be found that are 
favorable for planted clams, but on which there would 
be little or no natural set of the young because of peculi- 
arities of currents. 

It is certain that the young clam makes no selection 
whatever of bottoms on which to settle, though curious 
segregations of minute clams that are often met with 
might suggest some such power. Here and there it will 
be found that sea-weeds bear newly settled clams in 
great numbers. Certain strips of beach also have been 
observed on which multitudes of small soft clams have 
settled, the margins of the tracts being sharply limited. 
On adjacent bottoms very few are to be found. Prob- 
ably these great inecjualities in distribution are due en- 
tirely to peculiarities of water currents. When a certain 
stage of development is reached, the swimming form set- 
tles, wherever it happens to be. More will fall where 
large volumes of water pass in the form of sharply de- 
fined currents than where tliere is little movement of 
water. As so often happens in nature, the seed is sown 
broadcast. While in this case it can usually live only on 
certain restricted tracts between tide lines, it falls in 
deep water and shallow alike, probably thousands of 
times more often where death is inevitable than where 
farther development is possible. 

During the swimming period there has been formed 
far back on the under side of the foot a gland for secret- 
ing a transparent fluid which, on being ejected into the 
water, hardens into a minute, tough thread known as the 



The Life History of the Soft Clam 293 

byssus.. Immediately on settling, the young clam at- 
taches itself by means of this thread to shells, sea-weeds, 
pebbles, or even to sand. It is now not much larger than 
many of the sand grains, and its body is so light that 
if it were not anchored in some way, it would be rolled 
along by the action of the water. When water move- 
ments cease, as at slack tide, it often casts off the byssus 




Fig. 56. — Very small long neck clam 
(.4 millimeter), b, byssus; f, foot; 
s, siphon. Drawn from living speci- 
men, 

and begins to creep by means of its foot. What the ob- 
ject of this habit may be it is difficult to imagine, for the 
little creature, even if in search of a more favorable lo- 
cality, is able to move only very short distances. After 
a little exercise of this sort, it rapidly secretes and fast- 
ens another thread, but sometimes continues to creep 
about to the length of its tether. 

The general appearance of this newly settled clam 
is illustrated in Figure 56. Foot (/) and siphon (s) 
Sire shown extended, and the byssus thread (b) with its 



294 O'^r Food MoUusks 

terminal branches, is represented. The outhne of the 
shell is very different from that of the adult, being nearly 
round. The umbones also are very prominent. 

Probably not even the swimming stage is more crit- 
ical for Mya than this period of creeping, which is of 
longer duration. If on a beach, where it has a chance 
of continuing its existence, it may be washed away by 
stormy waters ; and everywhere on the bottom it is ex- 
posed to numerous enemies and has little defense against 
them, for its transparent shell is still very thin and brittle. 
Perhaps to this stage at least the line from Saxe's '' Ode 
to a Clam " might apply, " Thy valves are sure no safety- 
valves to thee." 

Crabs and small fishes probably take many of them for 
food, but the most destructive of the clam's enemies are 
young starfish. These are produced in the early summer 
when the young clams are making their appearance, and 
after a short swimming period, also settle to the bottom 
in company with them. Even before their rays are 
formed, these pests develop an almost incredible voracity. 
They embrace their infant companions with all the gen- 
tleness displayed by their parents in their relations with 
adult bivalves, and to equal purpose. 

This tragedy in miniature is illustrated in Figure 57, 
v/hich represents a starfish about two days old devouring 
a young clam that it has found on the surface of the bot- 
tom. The drawing is not fanciful, but was made from 
the living subjects — or, more properly, perhaps, the liv- 
ing and dead. The actual length of the clam's shell was 
one and seven-tenths millimeters — about one-sixteenth of 
an inch. Some of the sucker feet are seen to be attached 
to the shell of the clam, while others are extended later- 
ally. The faint outline of the stomach of the starfish 



The Life History of the Soft Clam 295 

may be discerned through the transparent shell of its 
victim. 

Escaping its enemies and becoming larger, the diminu- 
tive clam begins to exhibit the digging habit, for now 
and then it attempts to thrust the sharp point of its 
foot down among the sand grains. At first, even when 







Fig. 57. — Very small starfish devouring a j'oung long 
neck clam. /, sucker feet ; s, everted stomach of 
starfish seen through the transparent shell of the 
clam. Drawn from the specimen. 



the sand is fine, it is unable to accomplish anything 
because of the lightness of its body. Soon, how- 
ever, when the shell has become about two millimeters 
long, it is able to push and worm the foot into the bottom, 
and the shell is then gradually worked in after it. Clams 
six or seven millimeters long are able to burrow into very 
stiff bottoms. 

Having thus completely covered itself, the young Mya 



296 



Our Food Mollusks 



once more spins a byssus, attaching it to several sand 
grains or pebbles in the wall of its burrow. The bur- 
row at this time is very shallow, and there is safety in 
thus anchoring, for a storm that might disturb the bot- 
tom even slightly, would expose the creature. Newly 




Fig. 58. — Long neck clam, Mya, with a byssus (b) attached 
to sand grains (sg). Drawn from living specimen, on 
a smaller scale than Fig. 56. 



buried clams have the habit of casting the byssus off at 
the point of its attachment to the body, of coming out 
of the burrow and creeping for short distances, and then 
of burrowing once more. 

Figure 58, drawn on a much smaller scale than Figure 
56, represents a soft clam two and three-tenths milli- 



The Life History of the Soft Clam 297 

meters in length removed from one of its earliest bur- 
rows. The outline of the shell is now quite as different 
from that of an earlier period as from that of the adult 
condition. An idea of the actual size of the clam may be 
had by comparing it with the bodies s g, which represent 
sand grains of average size. Byssus threads continue to 
be secreted until the clam is at least half an inch long. 
It is probably at about this time that a final descent is 
made. The byssus gland then atrophies and entirely dis- 
appears, and the animal never comes to the surface again 
through its own effort. 



CHAPTER XX 

THE GROWTH OF THE SOFT CLAM AND 
SOME NOTES ON CLAM CULTURE 




T has not been many years since it was the 
habit of some to complain at the expenditure 
of pnbhc money in the maintenance of 
scientific departments by the federal govern- 
ment. There was also much prejudice against state 
agricultural schools. Scientific farming was scorned by 
those who regarded themselves as practical farmers, and 
no one else was much interested in experiments looking 
toward the preservation of soils, the production of new 
varieties of corn or wheat, and the warfare against in- 
sect pests. A thousand problems, the solution of which 
has now added untold wealth and comfort to the nation, 
were once regarded as foolish speculations. Prejudice 
has now been completely overcome, and every one is 
familiar with the great practical achievements of 
scientific workers in the U. S. Bureau of Agriculture, 
and in the state experiment stations and schools. 

It has come to be understood also that fish commis- 
sions, instead of existing merely to stock streams for 
wealthy sportsmen, have worked wonders in the arti- 
ficial propagation of fishes, and in saving many of them 
from extermination. They have given their attention 
also to other aquatic food animals. The aid which has 
been given by the federal Bureau of Fisheries to various 

298 



The Growth of the Soft Clam 299 

states interested in the oyster industry alone, in surveys 
and in experiment, has been great, and is now sincerely 
appreciated. Now that the nation has been wakened in a 
wonderful manner to the necessity of saving what re- 
mains of its natural resources, and of increasing them 
when possible, it is an encouraging and stimulating thing 
to possess so many demonstrations of the ease with 
which vast material results may be obtained by working 
intelligently with nature instead of against her. 

What may be a relatively unimportant example of the 
nature of such work, is afforded by the clam problem 
that effects the north Atlantic shore. When it became 
evident that the soft clam industry was rapidly becom- 
ing ruined, a study of the subject was begun by the 
writer in 1898 at the suggestion of Dr. H. C. Bumpus, 
with a view of determining the conditions governing the 
life of Mya, the rapidity of its growth, and other facts 
that might lead to the development of a practical method 
of clam culture. This result was arrived at, and has 
been thoroughly tried and proved by state commissions, 
especially in Massachusetts. All that is now necessary 
for the rapid regeneration and improvement of the soft 
clam industry is the formulation of state laws giving 
titles to bottoms where it may be carried on. 

Most of the early experiments were made on beaches 
where conditions were recognized as being unfavorable, 
because facilities for the work were not to be had else- 
where. Tide currents especially were sluggish on some 
of the ground, and on many of the beds that were con- 
structed there was little more than a cjuiet rise and fall 
of water. These facts make the results all the more re- 
markable. 

The plan followed was to select bottoms for the ex- 



300 Our Food Mollusks 

perimental beds where differences in soil, time of ex- 
posure, salinity, and especially variations in the exchange 
of water over them, should be as great as possible. 
When the areas chosen had been staked out, the ground 
was carefully dug over and all clams found were re- 
moved. Seed clams were gathered sometimes from the 
same locality, and sometimes at distant points, where the 
temperature and salinity of the water were very different. 
Clams to be planted were of different sizes, and some 
were planted quickly in beds prepared for them, while 
others were exposed to the air for varying periods be- 
fore planting. Records of these facts were kept, and 
results noted when the beds were subsequently dug. In 
order to determine accurately the amount of growth, the 
length of each individual clam — and altogether there 
were many thousands of them — was measured, and those 
of a size were planted together. Beds were subdivided 
by measurement, and diagrams in a note-book showed 
exactly what clams were placed in each square foot, and 
gave their number. Planting was done during the 
months of July and August, and the beds were dug a 
year later. 

Some of the results of these first clam experiments, 
made on the south side of Cape Cod, may be given 
briefly. 

The most important fact brought to light was that 
growth, as compared with that of the oyster, was very 
rapid. As already stated, the length of each clam was 
determined just before planting, and again after a year 
of growth, to determine the amount of increase. But a 
statement of the increase in length gives no adequate 
idea of the amount of growth. That is best accom- 
plished by obtaining the actual increase in volume, and 



The Growth of the Soft Clam 301 

may be expressed in weight or in cubic contents. The 
latter plan was chosen, and the determination made by 
displacement in water. A clam one inch long displaces 
approximately 1.6 cubic centimeters of water; one two 
inches long displaces about 1 1 cc, or nearly seven times as 
much ; while an individual measuring three inches dis- 
places 43 cc, and is about twenty-seven times as large as 
the first. With a table of such facts, inches were trans- 
formed to cubic centimeters, and the increase in volume 
expressed in percentages. 

Again, clams all of the same length when planted will 
vary somewhat in size after a year's growth. When 
these were dug and measured, they were segregated into 
sets according to size. The number in each set was 
counted, the sets arranged in a series, and the arith- 
metical mean of the series calculated. Then the volume 
of the mean of the series was compared with the volume 
of the clams when planted, and the percentage of in- 
crease in volume determined. 

Perhaps a specific example of the employment of this 
method will be less opaque than the foregoing statement. 
In a bed planted on July 13, 1899, the planted clams 
were one and one-half inches long. They were removed 
on July 4, 1900, the length of each obtained, and all 
were arranged in sets, and the sets in a series. The 
mean length of the series, expressed in eighths of an inch, 
was 20.952, or nearly two and five-eighths inches. The 
volume of a clam one and a half inches long is 4.5 cc. 
That of an individual two and five-eighths inches in 
length is 32 cc. Therefore the increase in volume in this 
case is about 688 per cent. 

Many thousand clams were placed in beds in a locality 
in which there was practically no current, the only ex- 



302 



Our Food Mollusks 



change of water being in the rising and falling tide. In 
July, pebbles and stones on the surface became coated 
with a dense growth of sea-weed. Masses of dead eel- 
grass, which were barely floated at high tide, also re- 
mained on the beds for days at a time during the 
summer. All of this must have interfered greatly with 
the feeding of the clams, but in spite of the unfavorable 
condition, the increase in volume was great, as is shown 
in the following table : — 



Size when planted. 


Approximate 

percentage 

of increase 

in I year. 


Size when planted. 


Approximate 

percentage 

of increase 

in I year. 


if inches 


Per cent. 
556 
422 

347 
284 
210 
190 


2^ inches 


Per cent. 

139 

109 

78 

38 

28 


i# inches 


2| inches 


if inches 


2f inches 


i| inches 


2^ inches 


i| inches 


2| inches 


2 inches 











In order to present some tangible idea of this growth. 
Figure 60 was prepared. The jar to the left contains 
seventy-five individuals, each one and five-eighths inches 
long. The other holds an equal number of the size of 
the mean after a year of growth — two and a half inches. 
The increase in volume is 347 per cent. If clams much 
smaller when planted had been chosen, the illustration 
would have been much more striking. 

The following table shows the growth of several thou- 
sand clams on a bed where the exchange of water was 
much better than on the first, though not so good as on 
some flats. Unfortunately most of the clams planted 
here were smaller than those on the first beds, so that the 
percentage of increase cannot be compared. Small 



The Growth of the Soft Clam 303 

clams increase more rapidly than large ones under 
identical conditions. One series of the same size — 
that in which clams were one and three-eighths inches 
long — was planted in each locality. On the first beds, 
where there was little current, the increase was 556 per 
cent., on the second 711 per cent. 



Size when planted. 


Approximate 

percentage 

of increase 

in I year. 


Size when planted. 


Approximate 

peicentage 

of increase 

in I year. 


I inch. 7 


Per cent. 

II50 

802 


i| inches 

i| inches 


Per cent. 
768 
711 


I5 inches 







It will be noticed that the increase of one inch clams 
was 1,150 per cent. The mean length of these clams 
when dug was nearly three inches, that is, they had 
grown from a length of one inch to marketable size in 
one year. Most of this growth took place during the 
summer and fall. 

It is usually possible to obtain large numbers of clams 
of this size for planting. When spread on a beach, they 
are able to burrow into it readily, and when established, 
will remain. In order to be certain of the growth of in- 
dividuals of this size, another bed, with which great care 
was taken, was selected for them, this time where the 
current was a little more marked, and where they were 
immersed each day for a somewhat longer time. The 
increase in this bed was 1,337 P^'* cent. The relative 
sizes of the clams at the beginning and end of the year 
are shown in Figure 59. 

These experiments with Mya were subsequently re- 
peated on a much larger scale, both above and below 
Cape Cod, by the Massachusetts Fish and Game Com- 



304 Our Food Mollusks 

mission. The work was done with extreme care, and 
by expert observers, beds being constructed at many 
points on the coast and in ail sorts of localities. The re- 
sults of the earlier experiments were completely verified, 
and as most of the work was done on flats instead of on 
beaches, were even more favorable. 

The following quotation from the commission's re- 
port for 1907 gives a general summary of results in the 
case of a one inch clam : — 

" A I -inch clam will grow in one year to a size between 
2 and 3 inches. Under fairly favorable conditions, with 
a moderate current, a i-inch clam will increase to 25^ 
inches, or a gain of 900 per cent, in volume. For every 
quart planted, the yield in one year will be 9 quarts. 
For beds without current, i-inch clams average about 
2 inches, or a gain of 500 per cent. ; i.e., five quarts for 
every quart planted. Beds under exceptionally fine con- 
ditions have shown the amazing return of 15 quarts for 
every quart of i-inch clams planted. Clams increased 
in these beds from i to 3 inches in length. Therefore, 
by planting clams i inch or over, under favorable condi- 
tions a marketable clam can be produced in one year." 

The growth of Mya has been studied in much more de- 
tail than that of the oyster. It is, of course, the point of 
greatest importance to the culturist, and the possibilities 
of increase under good conditions, as here illustrated, 
certainly are not overstated. 

Though some practical clammers have seen the value, 
and more recently the coming necessity, of clam culture, 
there have been few attempts to practise it, and almost 
none that have been thoroughgoing. The chief reason 
for this is that it has been impossible to obtain rights to 
clam bottoms that would be respected. 



^^^^HI^H^^H^H 




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iff \ \ ^^^1 


■ 


wKt ,'^>"'- ^ '^j^^"-!^ 




^^^^^1 


Hn ' -^^^"^""-ir^ittHSBfi!?^^^^^ 


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HHk "i iiiiilffym>iii|Si r '' 


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^1 



Fig. 59. Increase in size in one year of clam one inch lonc^ 
when planted. * 




Fig. 6o. Increase in volume in one year of clams in an ex- 
perimental heel with slight current. J. L. Kellogg, Special 
Shell-hsh Commission. U. S. F. C. 



The Growth of the Soft Clam 305 

In a U. S. Fish Commission report published in 1887, 
reference is made to an attempt at clam farming at 
Bridgeport, Conn. It is stated that a beach right was 
secured under a general state law, but that there was 
" immense opposition from the shore people of the sub- 
urbs, who, as usual, bitterly and blindly opposed any 
cultivation of marine products." 

Small clams were planted by being placed in holes 
made in sand, but this was found to be slow, and an at- 
tempt was made, by the use of all sorts of plows and cul- 
tivators, to plow the seed in. Finally a light plow was 
invented that was said to do the work satisfactorily. 
The bed, which was about half an acre in extent, was in- 
spected three years after the first planting, and showed 
an immense number of clams. As they were apparently 
too thickly set, the owner was engaged in thinning and 
transplanting them, and believed that he '' must wait 
four or five years for his first crop." Even at that, the 
writer of the report declared, " I know of no branch of 
mollusk culture likely to prove more remunerative than 
this, so long as it is not overdone." Nevertheless, for 
some reason the attempt at Bridgeport was discontinued. 

Laws of New England shore states allow towns to 
rent their flats to citizens for the purpose of planting 
clams. At one time or another several towns have done 
this, but all attempts at clam culture have proved to be 
dismal failures, not because of adverse natural condi- 
tions, but from rivalries and ill feeling among those who 
were most interested, and from the difficulty in punish- 
ing trespassers. 

Perhaps the nearest approach to success was made by 
the town of Essex in Massachusetts. In 1888 its select- 
men were authorized to rent lots of one acre or less, to 



3o6 Our Food Mollusks 

any citizen of the town, on the flats along the Essex 
River; but it was not until 1891 that any applications 
were made for them. In that and in the following year, 
nearly forty acres are said to have been rented. At that 
lime the flats were practically barren from excessive dig- 
ging, though formerly they had been extremely pro- 
ductive. In most cases planting was desultory, each 
renter waiting to see what his neighbor might be able to 
accomplish in his experiment, before he gave his own 
time to it. A few diligent ones succeeded in demonstrat- 
ing the feasibility of the method, but as no person lived 
within sight of the majority of the beds, the property was 
not guarded, and no planter received any benefit from 
his work. There were no reapplications for leases when 
the first had expired. 

Again and again it has been proved that the way to 
meet an increased demand for living natural products 
is not to limit the supply, but to increase it, and almost 
invariably this can be done. Undoubtedly state laws will 
ultimately be modified so as to make clam culture pos- 
sible, and many will engage in it. A few general sug- 
gestions may be of value to those who shall be able to ac- 
quire protection in rights to shore property, and who de- 
sire to engage in clam culture. 

The prospective culturist will look about for favorable 
bottoms. As already stated, he should avoid a shifting- 
surface or one in which there is much decaying organic 
matter. It will be safe to select one on which clams are 
growing if it is available, but many that are quite bar- 
ren, having been made so by excessive digging, are quite 
as good. It may sometimes be good policy to construct 
small experimental beds. 

Free exchange of water, though not enough to disturb 



The Growth of the Soft Clam 307 

the bottom, is best. As the oyster cnhiirist chooses cer- 
tain bottoms on wliich oysters grow rapidly, so the clam 
ciilturist may sometimes advantageously plant seed from 
one and a half to two inches long in a current even- 
strong enough to disturb the bottom. Growth is often 
very rapid in such localities, but small clams planted in 
them would be washed out or smothered. The rate of 
growth depends directly on the amount of food that 
the clam obtains, but the amount of food does not al- 
ways depend on swiftness of current. There must be 
some movement of water, but in some localities there 
are so many food organisms in it that growth is rapid 
when currents are sluggish. Such points must be proved 
by trial in each locality. 

The idea of obtaining seed clams from artificially fer- 
tilized eggs should be dismissed at the beginning. Arti- 
ficial fertilization of oysters eggs is easily accomplished, 
but no one has yet been able to make any practical use 
of it. With the eggs of Mya it is very difficult, and no 
one is likely ever to make a success of rearing the young 
from the egg. Furthermore, it would seldom be of value 
in either case to be able to do so, for the natural supply 
is sufficient. 

The set will always vary as the oyster set does. In 
any locality it will be heavy one year and light another. 
On one flat it may be a failure, usually from a local ad- 
verse condition like a cold rain when the water is full of 
swimming embryos. Several days of low temperature 
may cause it to be more widespread. There seems, 
however, seldom to be a failure over much of the shore 
at one time. If necessary, it should be possible to pur- 
chase seed at no great distance from any point where a 
failure occurs. 



3o8 Our Food Mollusks 

Sometimes the set is quite evenly spread over a flat. 
Most often it is very irregular, being generally thin, 
but very dense in a few spots. These dense segrega- 
tions, that every clammer knows, are caused by sharply 
defined currents that have passed near spawning clams. 
Every day during the breeding season some swimming 
individuals reach the stage of development in which they 
sink to the bottom, and a more or less steady shower of 
them continues to fall for several weeks. More swim- 
ming forms w\\\ pass over the bottom that underlies a 
current than elsewhere, and this will receive an unusually 
large number of the settling individuals. Some modi- 
fication of a current, as an eddy on its margin, may 
sweep together astonishingly great accumulations. Such 
segregations are common, and the fate of the young 
clams comprising them has been studied and described. 

Two such areas, for example, lying under parallel and 
sharply defined currents that were separated by a dense 
mat of eel-grass, were nearly two hundred yards long 
(Figure 6i). Each was but two or three yards wide. 
In the middle of the breeding season they were as densely 
packed as it was possible for them to be. Before the 
end of the summer all had died from overcrowding. 

A similar segregation, occurring on the flats near Ips- 
wich, in Massachusetts, the fate of which, however, was 
not witnessed, has been well described by Mr. J. R. 
Stevenson. " Often," he writes, " they are so numerous 
that only a small portion can burrow, the rest being but 
half in the sand, or merely resting upon its surface, the 
sport of every storm. Such an area I found during No- 
vember, 1906, in Plum Island Sound, upon the east side 
of Rowley Reef. The narrow channel here washes the 
eastern thatch bank. Upon the west side of this channel 



The Growth of the Soft Clam 309 

a long reef has grown up, on which lay the prodigiously 
abundant set. Several clamniers have told me that fre- 
quently such sets occur here. Upon an area of 600 to 
700 feet long, tapering at the ends, and about 150 feet 
wide in the center, I found a set of young clams from 
1,000 to 5,000 per square foot. From an average square 




Fig. 61. — Position of dense set of 
young of Mya in a small bay. 
Dotted line marks the low-tide 
level. J. L. Kellogg. Report of 
Special Shell Fish Commission, U. 
S. F. C. 

foot of sand in which every clam was burrowed out of 
sight, and in which I counted roughly 1,000 holes, I dug 
T,937 clams, averaging about half an inch in length. 
From a square foot of sand into which the clams had not 
completely burrowed I sifted 2,486 clams. Roughly 



3IO Our Food Mollusks 

estimating this area at 50,000 square feet set with clams 
at least 1,000 per square foot, we have the enormous 
total of 50,000,000 young clams. Averaging, as I found, 
about 3,000 per quart, there are about 17,000 quarts, 
which is over 500 bushels of young clams. The produc- 
ing power after two years' time, of these 500 bushels we 
may scarcely estimate. From certain productive flats 
less than 500 two-year-old clams filled a bushel basket. 
This young set on Rowley Reef goes 100,000 per bushel. 
If all were thriving after two years, we would find a 
gain in volume of 160; i.e., if to-day we were to plant i 
bushel of this set, within two years we would be able 
to dig over 160 bushels of fair-sized, marketable clams. 
Many of these clams, even if carefully transplanted, 
would die; yet, if but a half survive, the gain in volume 
of even 80 bushels is enormous. 

" Near the center of the most thickly set area I found 
a tidal pool, roughly 12 feet long by 6 feet wide, and 
about 15 inches deep. At first sight it seemed but an 
inch or two deep, but upon wading into it I sank to my 
knees. Imagine my surprise when I found it was not 
rnud into which I sank, but a mass of living clams. 
Here were more than 60 cubic feet of solid clams. 

" The first day I visited the reef I dug a short trench, 
about 15 feet long, across a portion of this thickly set 
fiat. The day following I found several pailfuls of 
young clams gathered by th.e force of the water into clean 
heaps. When such natural tide pools fail in their sup- 
ply, it is possible to dig others, and, by turning over the 
thickly seeded flat, to let the tides and waves fill the new 
pools with the dislodged clams." 

Very little attention has been paid to these collections 
by clammers, but they are well worth careful observa- 



The Growth of the Soft Clam 311 

tion. They afford a good illustration of the wasteful- 
ness and destructiveness of nature, and at the same time 
present an excellent opportunity to retrieve what usually 
would be a total loss, for when left to themselves, these 
vast communities of infants commonly perish. In the 
case of most organisms seed is scattered beyond recov- 
ery, but here it is collected by the tides in such a manner 
that it may easily be gathered. While there is great 
variation in the size and position of these segregations 
in successive years, they occur on large f^ats with suffi- 
cient regularity to insure a source of seed for planting. 

A careful examination of an extensive clam bottom 
will also reveal areas here and there on which are clams 
of all sizes up to two inches in length. These are 
crowded, but not often densely packed. Here there 
seems to be a balance, the greatest number possible, with 
the supply of food brought by the currents, continuing 
to exist, but growing very little, if at all. Year after 
year the numbers and sizes of clams in such places have 
been observed to remain about the same. Such collec- 
tions also afford seed, and the rate of growth under more 
favorable circumstances that may be expected of in- 
dividuals between one and tvv'o inches in length has been 
indicated. 

The planting of very small clams is as" simple a matter 
as can be imagined. If the bottom is not too hard, and 
if the water does not come upon it or leave it too rap- 
idly, they may be sown broadcast like grain. Those less 
than half an inch long will, when covered by water, bur- 
row in the course of five or ten minutes. Most clams an 
inch long will also cover themselves, though the process 
requires a somewhat longer time. It has been shown 
that this might be made easier if the bottom were previ- 



312 Our Food Mollusks 

otisly plowed or raked in order to loosen its surface. 
Ordinarily this would not be necessary. 

Larger seed might perhaps be successfully plowed un- 
der, but no experiment besides that at Bridgeport has 
been made to test it. In the U. S. Fish Commission ex- 
periments, clams were dropped into holes made with 
stakes. On a pebbly beach where the making of the hole 
was very difficult, four men at one time thus planted three 
thousand clams in two hours. Subsequently on a sandy 
bottom the work was accomplished three or four times 
as rapidly. It would not be difficult to construct wheels 
with pegs on the rims that would make rows of de- 
pressions as rapidly as desired. Such a method of plant- 
ing clams would ensure their lodgment and their proper 
distribution, and the labor required ordinarily would not 
be great. 

After attaining a length of more than two inches, the 
soft clam is soon injured by exposure in summer. Tem- 
perature, however, and not merely exposure, is the im- 
portant factor. For several days the animal is able to 
withstand temperatures near the freezing point appar- 
ently without injury, but it lives only a short time out of 
the water in warm weather. Experiments show that an 
exposure of forty-eight hours during the hottest part of 
the summer will lead to the death of the majority, even if 
they are then planted, but few perished on being exposed 
twenty-four hours under the same conditions. 

Clams to be planted, however, should ordinarily be 
much smaller than this, and the power to resist heat in- 
creases as size diminishes. When kept in aquaria sup- 
plied with running water, large clams live only a few 
days when the weather is warm; but those less than half 
an inch long have been kept alive in a hot room, barely 




Fig. 62. Box suspended from a raft near a clam flat from 
May 15 until October 15 of the same year. The long-neck 
clams shown below had all settled from the swimming con- 
dition into the sand that it contained during this period. 




Fig. 63. Growth of Mya in two years on i-ioo of an acre of 
a barren flat. The small pile at the right represents the 
size and volume of the seed clams planted. The larger 
pile is eight times the volume of the smaller. Experiments 
by D. L. Belding, Mass. Fish and Game Com. 



The Growth of the Soft Clam 313 

covered with stagnant water, until, after many days, a 
scum of bacteria had formed over them. Seed for 
planting could be kept in good condition out of water for 
several days in a comparatively low temperature. 

Great numbers of soft clams have been dug from local- 
ities where the water contained very little salt, and 
planted where the salinity was very high, apparently be- 
ing not at all affected by the transfer. Great changes in 
salinity have a markedly bad effect on oysters, interfer- 
ing especially with reproduction; but soft clams breed 
well in either extreme. This condition, that requires so 
much attention from the oysterman, may probably be 
entirely disregarded by the clam culturist. 

No rule can be formulated to govern the volume of 
seed to be sown on a specified area, for one part of the 
bottom will support several times as many clams as an- 
other, and a bushel of very small seed clams should be 
spread over a larger space than if they were of greater 
size. In a report on the Essex experiment it was stated 
that about five hundred bushels of seed were required 
properly to plant an acre. This is an excessive number 
for the most favorable parts of any flat, even if the clams 
to be planted were relatively large. Very few — perhaps 
four or five — bushels of half-inch clams would be re- 
quired to fill the best acre that could be selected, and the 
best acre would support many times the number that 
could exist on some of the poorer ones. Only experi- 
ence will indicate the quantity of seed of a certain size 
that will produce the best results on a specified area. 

The recent extensive experiments of the Massachusetts 
Fish and Game Commission show that, on a flat of 
ordinary fertility, ten or fifteen clams to the square foot 
are as many as can maintain a maximum rate of growth. 



314 Our Food MoUusks 

But the difficulty of defining the conditions on a flat of 
ordinary fertility is naturally great. All that may be 
said is that, usually, it would not be safe to plant a 
greater number than this. With experience one may 
estimate with some confidence the possibilities of an un- 
tried bottom after examining it, and. becoming familiar 
with the flow of water over it; but certainty in all cases 
is to be had only by trial. 

Extensive experiments are numerous enough to make 
it certain that on many of our flats now almost entirely 
barren, it would be possible to produce each year at 
least four hundred bushels of marketable clams to the 
acre. These should be made to return a net profit of at 
least seventy-five cents a bushel, and probably more, for 
the labor involved is not great. It has been estimated, 
after a careful examination of the coast of Massachusetts 
by trained biologists, that there are now in that state six 
thousand acres of barren bottoms capable of producing 
clams. The available territory in the other northern 
states is not so great, but in some it is very extensive, 
and all of it together might be made to produce a vast 
amount of food. It now lies as it has lain for many 
years, almost entirely barren and useless. 

In the newer parts of our country it has not been dif- 
ficult for a few individuals to obtain control of natural 
resources. Such a state of affairs is unjust and detri- 
mental to the best interests of the nation, and has re- 
sulted in a wanton and appalling waste of wealth, all of 
which properly belongs to the many and not to the very 
few. But on our eastern shore the fisheries, which the 
courts have decided include the mollusk fisheries, theo- 
retically belong to all the people, and it is interesting to 
observe that by exercising these rights that they hold in 



The Growth of the Soft Clam 315 

common, they have succeeded in wasting and destroying 
and exterminating quite as successfully as have the mo- 
nopolistic owners of natural oil, anthracite coal, or timber 
resources. 

There is a middle course between these extremes. It 
has been explained that the oystermen, after a long 
struggle, have forced the public to take that course, and 
it has been generally recognized in the Atlantic states as 
a just one. bringing hardship to no one, and developing 
for the benefit of all a great industry that otherwise 
could not have existed. Apparently no citizen who has 
desired to taken an active part in oyster culture has been 
prevented from doing so, either from lack of shore room 
or from pressure brought to bear on him by strong com- 
petitors ; and there are now many times as many oysters 
growing in some waters than ever existed in them under 
a state of nature. 

There is every reason for taking the same middle 
course in the disposition of the extensive area that might 
yield an abundance of clams — soft and hard clams alike. 
There seems to be no reason to doubt that the result 
would be as beneficial to the public in general as it has 
been in the disposal of the oyster territory. The case as 
it exists in New England is very clearly put by Dr. G. 
W. Field, Chairman of the Massachusetts Fish and Game 
Commission, who says : — 

" The parallelism between the shellfisheries and agri- 
cultural conditions, both historical and biological, is very 
close. In each, the original inhabitants depended en- 
tirely upon the natural products, and public ownership 
of land and all natural utilities was universal. Later 
tliere developed the advantage, and even the necessity, of 
private ownership of land and its products, if prosperity 



3i6 Our Food Mollusks 

in its widest sense, or even the actual subsistence of the 
increasing population, was to be maintained. The 
acquisition of titles to land areas was the first logical step. 
The fixing of permanent bounds was simple. The land 
then furnished a more readily accessible and certain 
source of food, which not only could be produced with 
relatively little labor and capital, but which from its very 
nature would be readily and compactly stored in barns, 
cellars and granaries, where its cjuality did not deter- 
iorate and where it was quickly available in stress and 
storm. The chance which brought the first settlers to 
Plymouth rather than to another section of our coast was 
responsible for the present law, that the owners of land 
bordering tide water own the tidal flats for a distance of 
I GO rods (approximately the conditions at Plymouth), 
or to mean low-water mark if less than loo rods from 
the high-water mark. In accordance with the early 
English law, the ' fisheries,' which the courts have since 
decided included the mollusk fisheries, were declared to 
be forever the property of the whole people, i.e., the 
State; and these fisheries were for a long period open to 
any inhabitant of the State who might need to dig the 
shellfish for food for his family or for bait. From 
time to time, however, special grants have been made to 
certain towns, carrying control of the shellfisheries ; spe- 
cial acts of the General Court of Massachusetts delegat- 
ing to certain towns practically all the rights of the 
State in the shellfisheries within the limits of that town. 
" The present laws have essentially in a marked de- 
gree converted the shellfisheries, the undivided property 
of all the inhabitants of the State, into holdings of the 
shore towns and cities. In many instances there has re- 
sulted up to the present time merely legalized plundering 



The Growth of the Soft Clam 317 

of the flats, local jealousies prohibiting the digging of 
clams by ' outsiders,' and little or no care given to main- 
taining the normal yield of the flats. The regulations 
made by the selectmen or the mayor and aldermen are 
usually but distinct attempts at checking the demand, by 
prohibiting digging for certain periods, by limiting the 
number legally to be dug by any one person, etc. It 
would be quite as logical for a town or city to prohibit by 
by-laws the use or digging of potatoes or any other food 
crop, when the supply was short, rather than to attempt 
to increase the supply. As a result, the unsystematic 
methods of marketing have led to the premature destruc- 
tion of far more clams than ever go to market; a similar 
condition would exist if the farmer should dig over his 
growing potato field before the crop matured, either in 
the hope of finding a few marketable tubers, or to pre- 
vent the possibility of his neighbor digging up the pota- 
toes at that time or later. 

"... The owners of the land adjacent to the flats, 
are under the present laws often subjected to annoyance 
or loss by inability to safeguard their proper rights to a 
certain degree of freedom from intruders and from 
damage to bathing or boating facilities, which constitute 
a definite portion of the value of shore property. 

'■ . . . That any one class should claim exclusive 
' natural valid rights,' over any other class, to the shell- 
fish products of the shores, wiiich the law states ex- 
pressly are the property of ' the people,' is as absurd as to 
claim that any class had exclusive natural rights to wild 
strawberries, raspberries, cranberries or other wild fruits, 
and that therefore the land upon which these grew could 
not be used for the purpose of increasing the yield of 
these fruits. This becomes the more absurd from the 



3i8 Our Food Mollusks 

fact that the wild fruits pass to the owner of the title 
of the land, while the shellfish are specifically exempted, 
and remain the property of the public.'' 

In time these antiquated laws will be changed. Clam 
bottoms will be leased to individuals by the state, and 
not by the towns, if, indeed, they are not eventually sold 
as they should be, and the harvests they bear will belong 
to the owners. But the demand for the change should 
come from the public and not alone from the few who 
would engage directly in the clam industry. 

With the formulation of new laws to establish the in- 
dustry, there should not be omitted those safeguarding 
the public health, by requiring cities and towns near 
clam flats to make a proper and safe disposal of sewage. 
Oystermen are able to establish growing grounds far 
from shore, where oysters will be safe from contamina- 
tion by disease-producing micro-organisms, and many of 
them are doing so; but soft clams can be dug only on the 
shore between tide lines. 

The facts should be recognized that the present soft 
clam industry, that depends entirely on natural condi- 
tions, is far on the way to destruction; that nature at best 
is extremely wasteful in her methods; and that the hand 
of man can easily compel her to produce great wealth on 
desert places. The establishment of the new industry 
should be accomplished with much less effort than was 
the existing oyster industry. Very much less labor need 
be expended in the collection of seed. There need be no 
spreading of collectors. Some thinning and equalizing 
of the distribution may be necessary on areas seeded 
naturally, but without boats or expensive implements, 
barren ground may easily be planted. Once in the 
ground, the clams are safe from all natural enemies. 



.1 



The Growth of the Soft Clam 319 

They will be ready for market in half the time required 
for oyster growth. For several years the demand has 
been steadily growing. There is room for an indefinite 
extension of the market, and when production becomes 
certain, a fair and steady price may be depended on. 
The man with small capital may profitably engage in the 
new enterprise. The culture of the soft clam in some of 
the northern states should be as successful as that of any 
other marine food organism, and the culture of the hard 
clam, or little neck, on southern shores as well as in parts 
of New England, should also become of great import- 
ance. 

The time may come when the matter of the artificial 
culture of Mya will be of interest to the states of Cali- 
fornia and Washington, for the creature has established 
itself on the Pacific coast and is slowly finding favor in 
the markets. Mya was introduced into California 
waters by accident or design about 1870, and being a 
cold water form, found conditions suited to its needs, 
and at once multiplied rapidly and spread over a large 
territory in San Francisco Bay and elsewhere, occupying 
beaches between tide lines, as at home in the Atlantic. 

The " eastern clam," as it is known on our western 
coast, appeared in Willapa Bay, Washington, about 1880, 
and is supposed to have come directly from California. 
From this point a few years later a small number was 
transported to Puget Sound, near Tacoma. Since that 
time they have spread, appearing at many points on the 
shores of the sound, and in some places are very abun- 
dant. To have attained so wide a distribution in so short 
a time, proves that the conditions in the new waters are 
very favorable for the propagation of the soft clam. 

The Pacific states possess half a dozen fine edible 



320 Our Food Mollusks 

clams of their own. Among them are the " giant clam " 
or " geodnck " (Glycimeris generosa), that sometimes 
attains a weight of more than six pounds; the great 
"Washington clam" or "gaper clam" (Schizotheriis 
nuttalli), formerly abundant, but now so much reduced 
in numbers that it is seldom found in the market ; the 
"little neck," "hard shell," or "rock clam" (Tapes 
staminea — not the little neck of the Atlantic coast), 
which is found in the markets of Bellingham, Seattle, 
Tacoma, and elsewhere; and the "butter clam" (Saxi- 
domus nuttalli), now extensively canned. 

But the virtues of Mya are such that it will probably 
commend itself to the western public, especially as most 
of the native species are becoming much less abundant. 
Even if Mya could be had in numbers great enough 
eventually to take their places in the markets, it would be 
a great pity to see these wonderful western forms ma- 
terially decrease. Unfortunately, practically nothing is 
now known of their development, their life histories, or 
their rates of growth, and it is idle to speculate on 
their possible fate, or on what their cultivation in the 
bays of Washington and California might mean com- 
mercially to those states. 




CHAPTER XXI 

THE HARD CLAM 

EXT in commercial importance to Ostrea and 
Mya arenaria in New England, is the hard 
clam. It is a warm water form, and its dis- 
tribution extends from the southern side of 
Cape Cod to Texas. Small isolated beds exist in warmer 
bays above Cape Cod, but they are very few. The ranges 
of hard and soft clams overlap from Cape Cod to the 
Chesapeake, but from New York southward the hard 
clam becomes " the clam." 

Venus mercenaria is so called because a portion of the 
inner surface of its shell is often stained a beautiful bluish 
purple, and this was used by the Indians of the eastern 
shore in the manufacture of wampum beads. Wampum 
was used not only for dress ornamentation, and symbolic 
belts exchanged to seal intertribal transactions, but also 
as a currency medium even in trading with the early 
white settlers. 

A common name for Venus in New England is " qua- 
haug " or " quahog," and is probably derived from an 
Lndian name which signified " tightly closed " — a better 
name for the genus than that given to it by the naturalists 
— thus distinguishing the shell from that of Mya. The 
term " little neck clam '' is also used, for the siphon or 
" neck " is much shorter than in Mya, and the origin of 

321 



322 Our Food Mollusks 

the name " hard clam " is readily understood when one 
examines the thick, heavy shell. 

Though often found between tide lines, the hard clam 
occurs in greater numbers in deeper water, where it is 
continually submerged. In many localities in which con- 
ditions are favorable, it grows at a depth of at least 
fifty feet, and the outer limit of its distribution is prob- 
ably considerably farther. It burrows into the bottom, 
but only deep enough to cover tlie shell. It is found in 
sand, but more often where there is considerable mud. 

A primitive method of finding these clams w^as " tread- 
ing " or feeling in the mud for them with bare feet. It is 
very slow work, unless clams are numerous and the water 
shallow. The fishing is usually done from boats. In- 
frequently oyster tongs or dredges with long teeth are 
used, but the implement commonly employed is a large 
rake with long steel tines. The handles of these rakes 
are sometimes sixty feet long for use in forty or fifty feet 
of water. To operate such a rake requires immense 
muscular strength, but on many parts of the New Eng- 
land coast, where the fishing is done, irregularities of the 
bottom prevent the use of dredges. 

For many years quahaugs have been cooked and mar- 
keted in cans, and there is a large demand for them in 
the form of canned chowder. At one time an effort was 
made to market their dried and granulated flesh. It was 
said that this material, convenient in form for soups and 
chowders, had much merit, but it failed to find favor. 
During the last few years there has been a rapidly in- 
creasing demand for small individuals to be eaten, with- 
out cooking, from the half-shell. In restaurants and 
hotels these are called " little necks." 
. Venus will live out of water very much longer than 



The Hard Clam 323 

Mya. The edges of its shell form a joint that is al- 
most air-tight. It is safely shipped far inland, even in 
the hottest part of the summer, and consequently is the 
form most commonly used in fresh water clam-bakes — a 
rather poor imitation all through, of the genuine New 
England institution, but an enjoyable affair for all 
that. 

The hard clam, like Mya, has suffered a marked de- 
crease in numbers during the last few years. In 1898 
a single company that had been marketing ten thousand 
cans of hard clams daily for years, was compelled to 
abandon the Great South Bay of Long Island for the 
Carolina sounds, because of an almost complete failure 
in the supply. Most other bottoms wiiere hard clams 
were formerly abundant have failed because of ex- 
cessive digging. 

There are still great beds of these clams in the South 
that have never been disturbed. South of the Chesa- 
peake they are very little used as food. In 1904 great 
numbers of them were discovered by the writer on the 
muddy west shore of the Chandeleur Islands, near the 
delta of the Mississippi. Oystermen and fishermen along 
that coast stated that they were never dug even for bait. 
New Orleans possesses a great supply of fine oysters, 
but should also become acquainted with New England 
clam chowder, that she might so conveniently make her 
own. 

The chief features of the development of Venus have 
recently been determined by Mr. D. L. Belding, who 
finds that, after being fertilized in the water (from 
early June to the middle of August in New England), the 
eggs segment or divide in much the same manner as in 
the oyster, and produce a swimming form. Before the 



324 Our Food Mollusks 

swimming organ, or velum, disappears, a large foot is 
developed. Soon afterward the creature settles to the 
bottom. It was found that for some time the habits of 
the young Venus were almost precisely similar to those 
of Mya of the same age. A byssus gland is present at 
the beginning of the creeping period, and the young qua- 
haug attaches itself to objects on the bottom by a byssus 
thread. This is cast off at will, the creature creeps about 
for short distances, and then reattaches itself. Finally 
it is large enough to burrow, and immediately, on cov- 
ering itself, spins a byssus which it attaches to sand 
grains or pebbles in the burrow walls. As in Mya, the 
object of this is to prevent the animal from being washed 
away from the point where it is lodged. The byssus 
gland remains as a functional organ until the quahaug at- 
tains a length of at least nine millimeters. In larger in- 
dividuals it seems to have disappeared. 

The first experiments made on the growth of Venus 
were conducted in 1901 on the north shore of Long 
Island. In order to obtain as much security as possible 
against trespassers, permission was obtained from an 
oysterman to use a portion of an oyster bed that could be 
watched. Though growing oysters were thickly planted 
on the surrounding bottoms, there appeared to be an 
abundance of food, and the rate of growth obtained 
probably represents fairly the powers of increase pos- 
sessed by the quahaug" on ordinary bottoms near a beach 
line. 

As many and as diverse conditions as circumstances al- 
lowed were selected in placing the beds. Some were made 
on the beacli between tide lines, and others where they 
would be continually submerged. Several observations 
have made it seem probable that, as might be expected, 



The Hard Clam 325 

bivalves obtaining food continually will grow more rap- 
idly than those that are exposed at low tide. It proved 
to be true in this case. The currents were strong, but 
much the same on all beds. 

The belief prevails among clammers that the fully 
grown quahaug sometimes leaves its shallow burrow and 
creeps for some distance before burrowing again, and 
that in this way it may effect a considerable migration. 
At least one account of this supposed habit has been pub- 
lished. " On these bottoms of sand and mud," it runs, 
" the clam spends most of its time in crawling about with 
the shell upright and partly exposed. It can travel pretty 
fast, and leaves behind it a well-plowed furrow." This 
might be assumed to be true from the fact that it pos- 
sesses so large and powerful a foot. Some fresh water 
clams have this habit well developed, but hundreds of 
f[uahaugs used in this experiment remained for six 
months where they were planted. The fact that they 
move about very little if at all was later A-erified by ex- 
tensive experiments in which the creatures were under 
observation at all times of the year. It seems certain 
from the many observations that have now been made on 
this point that the future culturist need have no fear that 
his planted quahaugs will leave him of their own ac- 
cord. 

But at the time of the first experiment such a result 
was feared, and in order to forestall it beds below low 
tide were covered and walled in with wire netting. The 
small quahaugs were planted during the first week in 
July, and when the beds were dug in the last week in De- 
cember, the netting showed no signs of having been dis- 
turbed. Beds between tide lines were not thus screened 
and none of the clams had moved beyond their limits, 



326 Our Food MoUusks 

which had been marked by tagged staples driven into the 
ground. 

The results of six months of growth during the 
warmer part of the year may briefly be stated as fol- 
lows: — Continually submerged, quahaugs one and a 
quarter inches long when planted, increased in volume 
in one bed two hundred and twenty-two per cent, in six 
months. It is possible that the increase might have been 
somewhat greater here if the bed had not been almost 
entirely surrounded by great numbers of oysters that con- 
sume the same food. 

The increase was less in other beds in the same local- 
ity. For example, clams one and three-eighths inches 
long increased only seventy-eight per cent, in volume. 
Here, however, the wire netting exposed above the bot- 
tom had become the lodging-place of an abundant growth 
of sea-lettuce (Ulva), which flattens down in a current 
so as to prevent free access of the food-bearing stream. 
The effect of this mat of sea-weed in preventing the 
growth of hard and soft clams alike has been noted care- 
fully in many cases. It should, however, cause little 
trouble to the culturist, for it may easily be removed by 
a little raking. 

Where everything seemed to have been favorable on 
the beds between tide lines, quahaugs varying from one 
and a half to one and a quarter inches in length showed 
an increase in volume ranging from one hundred and 
fifty-five to two hundred and fifty-five per cent. 

In 1904 extensive experiments on the growth of Venus 
were begun by Mr. Belding for the Massachusetts Fish 
and Game Commission, and these were carefully and con- 
tinuously pursued for several years following. 

Mr. Belding has found that growth nearly ceases 



The Hard Clam 327 

about the first of November, and does not begin again 
until about the first of May, reaching its maximum in 
August. The precise time when growth ceases in the 
cold waters of the northern coast varies with the weather. 
When November is unusually mild and warm, there is 
some growth, but it is not extensive. There appears to 
be no growth after the first of December in any year. 
There is every reason to believe, however, that farther 
south the growing season is longer than in New Eng- 
land, and that where it never becomes cold, as in the 
Gulf of Mexico, it is continuous. 

Few figures showing the percentage of increase in 
volume in these experiments are yet available, but it has 
been found that under very favorable conditions the size 
of the " little neck " — which is about two inches in 
length — is attained in a little more than two years after 
the egg is fertilized, but on some of the- less favorable 
beds where eel-grass had prex'ented the flow of water, 
it was estimated that as many as eight years would be re- 
quired to produce a two inch little neck. It is believed, 
also, that quahaugs more than three inches long are at 
least four years old, and in cases where conditions have 
not been favorable, more than that. Thus it is not pos- 
sible to make a statement concerning the growth of 
Venus that will apply in all cases, because so much de- 
pends on local conditions. In a general way it may be 
stated that the average rate of growth is not so rapid as 
that of Mya, but more so than that of the oyster in cold 
northern waters. 

As in all previous clam experiments, the most im- 
portant condition governing growth was shown to be 
the advantage of a current of considerable strength. 
Doubtless this is true whh all bivalves. In certain fa- 



328 Our Food Mollusks 

vored places, shallow boxes or racks, containing three or 
four inches of sand, were suspended one above another, 
and clam? planted in them grew very rapidly, many gain- 
ing an inch in length in five months. It was found pos- 
sible to obtain good results in a strong current even 
when young clams were placed close together in these 
boxes. This " intensive farming " possesses many ob- 
vious advantages. By selecting a locality in which a 
strong current carries much food, a maximum growth 
could be attained with large numbers of clams, for much 
water above the bottom could be utilized. Such clams 
could easily be examined, and a market demand for a 
definite size could be met with little labor. On the other 
hand, there might be practical difficulties in handling 
continually submerged racks, and the expense of the 
method might be prohibitive. But interesting results 
might come of rack culture if it were practised on a com- 
mercial scale, and it is worth an extensive trial in more 
than one locality. 

The hard clam is apparently as little affected by dif- 
ferences in the salinity of water as is Mya. It was found 
to reproduce normally and to grow in waters in which 
salinity varied from 1.009 ^o i-0-5- The oyster is much 
more sensitive to these variations. Outside much nar- 
rower limits than these, its general condition, and espe- 
cially its power of reproduction, are seriously affected. 

Natural enemies of the adult are few, and do little 
damage. Starfish destroy some, and a few are killed by 
one or two boring inollusks (Figure 64). Probably 
there are heavy losses among the young before they are 
able to burrow, but once in the bottom, they are secure. 

Sufficient preliminary biological work has been done 
to make it certain that the quahaug industry, the newest 



The Hard Clam 



329 



of the shell-fish industries, but already fast declining, 
might be firmly established and greatly developed by arti- 
ficial culture. The demand for the adult clams is grow- 
ing rapidly, and there seems to be no danger that the 
" little neck '' will lose its popularity and again become 
only a young quahaug. Present prices for this baby 
clam are high, the clammer sometimes receiving four dol- 




FiG. 64. — Shell of a " little neck " 
clam, Venus, showing a hole 
bored over the visceral mass region 
by an oyster drill, Urosalpinx. 

lars a bushel for his catch, while one who orders them on 
the half-shell at a Boston or New York restaurant, pays 
for them at the rate of fifty dollars a bushel. If their 
production were to increase, the price received by the 
clammer might be lowered, but because of the merits of 
this form of food, the demand for it must continue to be 
greater. 

The control of the present quahaug industry in New 
England is very generally placed in the hands of the 
selectmen of shore towns. Too often the responsibility 
of supervising and intelligently regulating the raking of 
natural beds is entirely neglected. In no case, appar- 



330 Our Food Mollusks 

ently, has artificial production been encouraged, and the 
only effort to conserve the supply has been to declare a 
close season now and then. There are no provisions for 
forcing negligent towns to care for their shell-fisheries, 
and losses from such negligence fall on the public. The 
rights of citizens of the states, so far as the clam in- 
dustries are concerned, have been given to the few liv- 
ing on the shore. Not only have they in most cases 
failed to take advantage of these great and special priv- 
ileges, but they have, with almost perfect unanimity, de- 
clared that " outsiders " shall be allowed no privileges 
whatever on their shores. 

It thus appears that laws are urgently needed in the 
north Atlantic states that will permit of the artificial cul- 
ture of the quahaug by any citizen of the commonwealth 
formulating such laws. It would be better for each 
state possessing bottoms suitable for quahaug culture to 
make them accessible by lease or sale to non-residents. 
This has proved to be good policy in the management of 
the oyster industry. Unfortunately the time seems not 
to be near when such a condition may be attained in New 
England. 

When quahaug culture is attempted on a large scale, 
there will be some disadvantages as compared with soft 
clam or oyster culture. Chief among these will be the 
difficulty of obtaining large cjuantities of seed. The set 
seems usually to be scattered. One often finds on an ex- 
posed beach or flat great accumulations of very small bi- 
valves having a superficial resemblance to young qua- 
haugs, and which the natives of the shore usually con- 
fuse with them. Dense segregations of the young of 
Venus seem not to be so common as those of Mya, though 
why this should be so is difficult to explain, for the habit 



The Hard Clam 331 

of settling from tlie swininiing condition seems to be 
identical in the two cases. There are certain isolated 
coves and bays on the New England shore, however, 
wliere young quahaugs are sometimes raked up in vast 
numbers — usually to be sold for plantin,g in Long Island, 
a practice that has recently been begun there. Thus the 
price of seed may be high, though the clam is abundant 
enough in its scattered distribution. 

It will probably be found, however, that the few dis- 
advantages are more than counterbalanced by peculiar 
advantages. Venus, for example, is one of the hardiest 
of bivalves. It is not only peculiarly insensible to 
changes in temperature and salinity, but it withstands 
long exposure to the air, even in hot weather, without 
apparent injury. Shipments to distant markets or plant- 
ing grounds may thus be effected without loss. Again, 
there is a market during the entire year, and on the 
greater part of the Atlantic coast, and in the Gulf of 
Mexico, weather conditions would not interfere seriously 
with raking. 

The territory available for cjuahaug culture also is 
greater than for that of the soft clam. The only labor 
involved wnll be that of taking the seed and marketable 
individuals from their shallow burrows in the bottom. 
Planting in all cases may be accomplished as easily as in 
oyster culture, for quahaugs of all sizes are able to bur- 
row when thrown on the bottom. 

It may be of interest to speculate on the actual returns 
that should be expected by an energetic and reasonably 
cautious planter, who might now be able to lay out his 
quahaug or little neck beds in New England waters. 
When ordinarily favorable conditions obtain, he would 
plant on an acre at least one hundred and twenty bushels 



332 Our Food Mollusks 

of seed clams averaging one and three-quarters inches in 
length. For this seed he might have to pay five dollars 
a bushel, though often he would be able to obtain it for 
less. These young clams, for which he has paid six hun- 
dred dollars, he plants in early May. By the first of No- 
vember following they should average two and a half 
inches in length, and would have increased in volume to 
six hundred bushels. These he should be able to sell for 
at least three dollars a bushel, or eighteen hundred dol- 
lars. After deducting the amount spent in raking, 
which would vary according to the depth of water and 
the character of the bottom, he would in any case receive 
a relatively large profit from his investment. The pro- 
duction on some bottoms would not be so great as this, 
but on many others it would be considerably greater. 

The hard clam is widely and favorably known in the 
northern states, while in the South, in the warm waters 
of which it is much more at home, it is rarely seen in 
the markets, and in many regions is entirely unknown. 
Where it is now consumed, the demand for it is rapidly 
increasing, and when it has made its way into southern 
and far interior markets, a new and extensive industry 
will without doubt appear on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts 
over an area that is now practically unproductive. 




CHAPTER XXII 
THE SCALLOPS 

MONO the most beautiful objects to be found 
on the sea shore are the shells of scallops that 
are often thrown above the reach of the water 
by the waves of storms. Many species are 
found in temperate and warm parts of the world, and 
the rounded outline, the radiating grooves, or the ex- 
quisitely varied coloration of the shell, have attracted at- 
tention since the earliest times. It was often worn to 
indicate that the bearer had visited the shores of distant 
countries. The holy Palmer, brought before Lord Mar- 
mion, had come 

" From Salem first and last from Rome ; 
One that hath kissed the blessed tomb, 
And visited each holy shrine, 
In Araby and Palestine " 

" He shows St. James' cockle shell " 

"The scallop shell liis cap did deck." 

And after an adventurous and tempestuous life, when 
the time had arrived for his celestial pilgrimage, Raleigh 
sang 

" Give me my scallop shell of quiet, 
My staff of faith to walk upon." 
333 



334 O'^r Food MoUusks 

Lovers of the beautiful are not confined to civilized 
peoples, and we find that even ancient savages in various 
parts of the world employed the shells of scallops in many 
of their rites and ceremonies. 

Every one is familiar with these shells, which are used 
in many kinds of decorations, and are figured in dec- 
orative drawings and paintings; but comparatively few, 
perhaps, are aware that the animals that form them are 
eagerly sought in many countries for a more utilitarian, 
and — in the minds of those who may be inclined to agree 
with a modern French neurasthenic who has declared 
eating to be one of the most disgusting of human 
functions — less noble purpose, that of being used for 
food. However one may regard the function of eating, 
he has found it to be necessary, and has developed a 
taste that esteems one thing above another; and some of 
those who have come to regard this particular power of 
discrimination in themselves as an art, have assured us 
that the scallop is the daintiest of all the foods that the 
waters produce. 

The reason that so many are unfamiliar with the scal- 
lop as a food animal is that until recently it has been kept 
fresh with so great difficulty that it has been shipped only 
short distances from the shore. The secret of its seem- 
ingly perishable nature lies in the fact that four and a 
half quarts of small, yellowish scallop " meats," if soaked 
in fresh water for a few hours, will emerge plump and 
white — so greatly bloated, in fact, that they now fill a 
seven quart measure. Most consumers apparently desire 
to pay for plumpness and whiteness ; but freshened scal- 
lops are very perishable, while in a more natural state 
their keeping properties at the low temperatures of mod- 
ern refrigeration are nearly if not quite as good as those 



The Scallops 335 

of un freshened shucked oysters. If they feel that the 
bloating of scallops is necessary to the trade, it would 
seem that dealers might ship them in a normal state, al- 
lowing agents to bring about the required pathological 
condition after they had reached their destination. But 
the fact is that the market near the shore is sufficient for 
the present scanty supply, prices are ah-eady high, at 
times reaching five dollars a gallon at wholesale, and if 
scallops were to be sold un freshened, a still greater sum 
would have to be asked for them. The scallop dredger 
has a good reason for continuing to freshen his product, 
and the consumer may continue to live in ignorance of 
tlie nature of the unspoiled article. 

Those who are familiar with the scallop as it is ex- 
posed for sale in cities near the coast, have seen only 
small, white cylinders of flesh, for the part that is eaten 
is the single adductor muscle, the remainder of the body, 
tender and of fine flavor, being thrown aw^ay, or at best 
used as a fertilizer. That this is a great sacrifice appears 
from the fact that a bushel of scallops yields but two and 
a half or three quarts of " meats." 

Among the common names applied to the form in 
America are " scallop," '' scollop," and " escallop," while 
on the Gulf of Mexico, where, however, it is not known 
as a food molkisk, it is called a clam. In England such 
names as " queens," " frills," and " fan-shells " are 
heard. 

Two species, Pecten irradians and Pecten tenuicos- 
tatus, the one found from Cape Cod to Texas, the other 
north of the cape, are captured on our eastern and 
southern coasts. The warm water scallop is the smaller, 
its shell attaining a maximum diameter of about three 
and a half inches. It is marked by radiating grooves, 



33^ Our Food MoUusks 

and in young individuals is often variously and beauti- 
fully colored. This form is much the most common in 
the market. The northern scallop when full grown pos- 
sesses a shell about seven inches in diameter, that is with- 
out radiating grooves or pigment. It is now so difficult 
to find that it is seen in few markets outside the state 
of Maine. 

Pecten irradians inhabits shallow waters near the shore 
line, and is usually found where eel-grass is abundant. 
The reason for this will presently appear. Like the other 
members of the genus, it is in many respects a very 
highly specialized form among bivalves. Along its 
mantle edge, for example, are many complex eyes that 
are visual organs of surprising acuteness. The creature 
has the habit of lying, at times, on the surface of matted 
eel-grass, and on being approached, becomes alarmed, 
flaps itself off of its support, and sinks to the bottom. 
Like a few other bivalves, the adults are able to swim, but 
in a very peculiar manner. 

Lying on the bottom, they sometimes may be observed 
to snap the valves of the shell together, and water being 
thus ejected from the mantle chamber, the body is forced 
in the opposite direction. It might be assumed from the 
examination of an individual held in the hand that the 
animal must move in swimming with the hinge edge of 
the shell forward, but quite the reverse usually is true. 
It may be puzzling to understand why the expelled water 
should not all escape from the edges of the shell opposite 
the hinge where the gape is widest ; but when the mantle 
folds are examined, a very wide and thick flap is found 
on the edge of each, which, when the water in the cham- 
ber is put under pressure by the closing of the shell, is 
thrown inward in such a manner as to prevent its escape 



The Scallops 



337 




(Figure 65, / and Figure 67, m /). But these folds are 
muscular, and on the closure of the shell they bend out- 
ward near one of the lobes or " ears " of the shell on the 
hinge side, so as to form a short tube-like aperture. 
Tiirough this tube the jet is driven, and 
the body, rotating somewhat, is propelled 
in the opposite direction. Immediately the 
shell again opens and closes, and another 
jet is driven out, but this time near the 
opposite ear of the shell. Again the body 
is slightly rotated and driven onward at 
an angle to the first course. Alternately 
the jets are discharged from near one ear 
and then the other in rapid succession, and 
the creature rises from the bottom in a 
zigzag course until it reaches the surface. 
This is represented in Figure 66. Con- 
tractions then ceasing, it settles to the 
bottom, usually several feet from the 
starting point. If this performance were 
repeated many times, a considerable dis- 
tance might be covered, and it has been 
assumed that scallops make periodical 
and concerted migrations from shallow 
to deep water and back again. 

This, however, almost certainly is not true, though 
it is commonly believed. No reliable observer has ever 
asserted that he has seen these migrations. On the other 
hand, Mr. Belding, who for several years has watched 
them closely at all seasons where they grow naturally, 
and who has had the matter of their supposed migrations 
in mind, writes that they have remained in the same 
places the year around. The more intelligent of the scal- 



FiG. 65. — Cross 
section, edge 
of shell (s) 
and mantle 

(m) of Pec- 
ten, e, eye ; 
/, flap or fold 

extending 
inward from 
the edge of 
the mantle. 



338 



Our Food MoUusks 




Fig. 66. — Course taken by Pecten in rising from the bottom by 
successive closures of the shell. 

lop dredgers hold the same view of the matter. It does 
sometimes happen that scallops in shallow water are 



The Scallops 339 

segregated near the shore line, or even thrown on a beach, 
being rolled by dragging waves in a gale, but such a 
movement is not what is meant by migration. 

The small Pecten irradians is marketed in the fall and 
early winter, and in very shallow water is taken by 
means of an implement known as a " pusher," a rectan- 
gular iron frame about three feet wide with a bag at the 
back, which is pushed over the bottom by a handle. In 
water too deep for wading it is secured by means of light 
dredges towed in ten or fifteen feet of water by cat- 
boats, or more frequently, perhaps, by small gasoline 
launches. 

South of Cape Cod this small scallop is found at Nan- 
tucket, all along the south side of the cape, in Buzzards 
and Narragansett bays, and in some of the bays on the 
shores of Long Island. It was formerly abundant on 
both shores of Long Island Sound, but now is rarely 
found. Everywhere in northern waters it has been 
greatly reduced in numbers, like the clams. In the Caro- 
lina sounds it is taken for a few of the local markets, but 
is seldom disturbed in the Gulf of Mexico. In 1904 
great numbers were discovered by the writer on the eel- 
grass covered bottoms west of the Chandeleur Islands — 
enough of them, probably, to support an industry of con- 
siderable magnitude. They are not at all known, how- 
ever, in the neighboring markets. 

The northern scallop inhabits deep waters, most of the 
best known beds lying at a depth of from forty to sixty 
fathoms, and is dredged with difficulty, owing to the 
rocky nature of the bottom. 

Until recently little was known of the life histories of 
either of our Atlantic Pectens, though in the case of the 
shallow water form the fishermen had made some ac- 



340 Our Food MoUusks 

curate guesses as to the time of breeding and the length 
of life. We now possess a thorough study of the 
anatomy and development of the giant scallop by Pro- 
fessor G. A. Drew, and an interesting investigation of 
the development and habits of the shallow water form 
has been made by Mr. D. L. Belding. 

In the giant scallop the sexes are separate, but the 
shallow water form is hermaphroditic. In both cases 
the ovaries are easily recognized without dissection dur- 
ing the breeding season by their bright salmon-pink color. 

The spawning- season of Pectan irradians begins about 
the first of June in New England, and ends in early 
August, weather causing some variation. Probably it 
begins earlier in warm southern waters. The ripe eggs 
of this form, one four-hundredth of an inch in diameter, 
are extruded into the water, and there meet the male 
cells. Usually in hermaphroditic animals one set of sex- 
ual cells is matured and discharged before the other, ap- 
parently in order that self-fertilization may be prevented. 
But in an aquarium a scallop sometimes discharges ova 
and spermatozoa together, and these unite with each 
other. ■ More frequently one set is discharged, and then, 
after an interval, the other, and under natural conditions 
cross-fertilization would most often occur. 

The segmentation of the fertilized egg is of the same 
general character as that of oyster and clam eggs. It 
also, from fifteen to twenty hours after fertilization, be- 
comes a swimming embryo or veliger and, suspended by 
the activities of its cilia, is carried about by water cur- 
rents. The velum or prominence bearing swimming cilia 
has made its appearance, and a shell is secreted that is 
soon large enough to cover the entire body. The velum 
is extended out beyond the shell margin when in func- 



The Scallops 341 

tional activity. Whenever the creature is disturbed, it, 
like the veligers of other bivalves, immediately with- 
draws the velum within the shell, which closes, and sinks. 
Sometimes it resumes its course before settling far, but 
even if it reaches the bottom it may soon rise. 

During the last three days of the short swimming or 
veliger period, a foot begins to develop on the under side 
of the body. It becomes relatively very large, and its 
first function is a curious one. Being extended from be- 
tween the valves of the shell to a distance equal to that 
of two-thirds of the body, its end is seen to be covered 
with cilia, the movements of which begin to aid in swim- 
ming, and thus supplement the work performed by the 
velum. The latter organ soon atrophies and disappears, 
and the creature ceases to spend the greater part of the 
time afloat. But it is still able to swim, and frequently 
rises from the bottom — not yet, however, by the flapping 
movement of the shell valves that characterizes the swim- 
ming of the adult, nor by the action of the foot cilia 
alone, for the body soon becomes too heavy to be moved 
by them unaided — but by a paddling motion of the foot. 
Swimming by a paddle-like foot action is sometimes prac- 
tised by adults of other species of bivalves (Mactra, 
Ensis, Solenomia, Yoldia), and the habit is retained by 
the young Pecten for some time. Gradually it begins 
to swim by the shell, being aided for a time by the foot, 
but as the animal grows, the latter organ becomes rela- 
tively small and ceases to have a part in the performance 
of this function. 

Thus in early life the foot aids in swimming in two 
ways — by the action of its cilia and by paddling: but in 
addition to this, it performs two functions — that of spin- 
ning the byssus for attachment, and of creeping. Prob- 



342 Our Food Mollusks 

ably even in the late embryonic swimming stage a byssus 
gland is developed at its base and becomes functional, for 
very small individuals hardly more developed than the 
late swimming forms, have been found attached to float- 
ing objects, and Mr. Belding has witnessed somewhat 
older individuals, about one millimeter in diameter, 
swimming at the surface of the water with foot ex- 
tended, and has seen them attach by the sucker-like end 
of the foot on coming in contact with the sides of the 
aquarium. A moment later they were seen to be at- 
tached by byssus threads. 

By a groove on its under surface, the foot forms this 
thread from the byssus secretion, and attaches its end. 
While at first the thread is single, the number of strands 
in the organ increases as the animal grows, and it be- 
comes a firm tether. Figure 67 shows its appearance 
and relative size in an individual about half an inch in 
diameter. The deep notch shown in the shell where its 
lobe-like wing joins the main body, is for the accom- 
modation of the attached byssus. This bundle of threads 
is cast off at will from its proximal end, and new 
threads are formed when needed. From time to time 
attachment occurs during the greater part of the scallop's 
life, though infrequently in full-grown individuals. 

It should be observed that the habit of very early 
byssus attachment seems to have a direct bearing on the 
distribution of scallops, for it accounts for the fact that 
they are so frequently found in grass-covered bottoms. 
Usually in the early summer great numbers appear at- 
tached to the blades of eel-grass with which they may 
have come in contact while swimming, and to which they 
have fastened, as to the glass of the aquarium. The long 
blades of this plant, rooted in the bottom, seem to be both 



The Scallops 



343 



detrimental and useful to the scallops, detrimental be- 
cause their mass checks the food-bearing currents, and 
useful because they undoubtedly offer great protection 
by preventing the washing away of these light bodies in 




Fig. 67. — Pecten one-half inch in diameter, a in, adductor 
muscle ; b, byssus ; c, eye on mantle edge ; /, foot ; g, gill ; It, 
heart ; /, shell ligament ; m, mantle ; in f, mantle fold ; p, 
striated inner surfaces of the palps. 

Storms. Pectens that have had only scanty protection 
of this kind are often thrown up by waves to die on 
beaches. This probably is the explanation of the fact 
that the best scalloping grounds are on eel-grass covered 
bottoms. They also attach in deeper water, though in 
smaller numbers, to stones, shells, and other bodies. 
Long after they have passed the embryonic stage, they 



344 Our Food MoUusks 

may reach the grass blades above the bottom, for they 
stiU continue to swim from time to time by the padclHng 
motion of the foot, and then by the shell, and during 
these short journeys they may attach on striking any 
solid body. They may perhaps also attain a lodgment 
above the bottom by creeping up the grass blades, and 
this is a function of the foot not yet described. 

When the small scallop settles, on the disappearance of 
the velum, the foot is relatively of great size, covering the 
entire ventral surface of the body. Frequently the ani- 
mal extends it, attaching the end by a sucker-like action ; 
then by a contraction of the foot, the body is drawn 
toward this point, and by a repetition of the process the 
young Pecten creeps and often climbs up vertical sur- 
faces. This habit is continued for some time, and dur- 
ing the creeping period, of course, swimming and byssus 
attachment are also practised. 

It is interesting to observe that Pecten as well as Mya 
and Venus, and probably other bivalves, possess what 
may be called the creeping stage, a definite period during 
which they employ a part of the time in creeping on 
the ventral surface of the foot, and for the remainder lie 
attached to various objects by means of a byssus, which 
they may cast off and reform at will, and also, in the case 
of Pecten, in swimming. In 1891 incidental mention 
in papers published by two German biologists was made 
of the fact that the young of the bivalve Dreissensia ex- 
hibited the habit, after the swimming stage and before 
attachment, of creeping on the bottom. Details of this 
curious habit, however, were first published by the writer 
from observations made on the soft clam Mya, and re- 
cently it has been studied more thoroughly in Pectin 
and Venus by Mr. Belding. As the habit of creeping 



The Scallops 345 

seems to be of little or no value to any of these forms, 
except possibly to Pecten, and as the foot in all of them 
is at this stage proportionately a very large organ, 
though later becoming greatly reduced in Mya and Pec- 
ten, it may be assumed that the adult ancestral form of 
each possessed a large foot capable of effecting relatively 
long journeys, and that the creeping habit here exhibited 
by the young of their modern descendants is merely a 
memory of that ancient practice. Venus still retains the 
large foot in the adult condition, but in the light of the 
experiments mentioned in the previous chapter, seems, 
after it has begun to burrow, to make little or perhaps 
no use of it in locomotion. 

On account of the depth of water in which it lives, the 
early period in the life of the giant scallop is unknown. 
The adult seems not to be able to attach itself, though 
there is a byssus gland in the foot ; but there are no rea- 
sons for doubting that the young has the same habits of 
creeping and attachment that are found in its smaller 
relative. 

Some of the facts concerning the growth of Pecten ir- 
radians are of great interest and economic importance. 
Increase in size, after the scallop has settled from its em- 
bryonic swimming state, is fast or slow according as 
food-bearing currents are favorable or not ; but growth is 
most rapid in August and September, and decreases 
steadily as the water becomes colder. When, about the 
first of December, in New England south of Cape Cod, it 
has reached 50° F., growth ceases altogether. It is only 
resumed when, about the first of May, the temperature 
again rises above that point. It thus appears that in New 
England there are five months in the year when the scal- 
lop does not grow. The same is true of the hard clam, 



34^ Our Food Mollusks 

and it would be interesting to know if these forms grow 
continuously in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. 
During May growth is rapid, but in June or July, when 
the scallop is one year old, it begins to mature and dis- 
charge its sexual products. So great is the tax on the 
creature's energy during the period in which it is per- 
forming this function, that its growth is about half what 
it had been in May. When the reproductive period is 
passed, rapid growth is resumed. 

Actual increases in volume during known periods have 
not been calculated, but some idea of the rate of growth 
may be had from measurements of the longer axis of the 
shell in successive periods. Many growth experiments, 
carried on under varying conditions, have been made in 
Massachusetts. They show the average length of the 
axis of scallops spawned on July i to be about one and a 
half inches on December i, and that on December i a 
year later these scallops will possess a shell about two and 
a quarter inches across. 

There have been various speculations on the normal 
length of life of bivalves, but only in the warm water 
scallop have we any positive knowledge of it. While 
both of the edible Atlantic clams are known to live four 
or five years, and probably may live longer under favor- 
able circumstances, fishermen have generally held the be- 
lief that the scallop's life was limited to two years, and 
very careful observations have proved this to be true. 
The fact was ascertained in part by observing great 
numbers of individuals kept under normal conditions in 
large inclosures. Many observations were also made on 
those living among entirely natural surroundings, and 
altogether the data conclusively indicate a natural life 
period of from eighteen to twenty-six months. 



p 



The Scallops 347 



Life begins in June, July, or early August. One year 
from its beginning the scallop normally spawns. It lives 
on until about the first of the following March, beyond 
which time there are very few chances of its survival. 
Some members of its generation perish earlier, the great 
majority die with it, when there begin to be some promises 
of spring, while a very few companions, undiscouraged 
even by a New England winter, are able to reach a sec- 
ond spawning season, soon after which they also perish. 

All this has an important economic bearing, briefly put 
by Mr. Belding as follows : — " All scallops less than one 
year old must be protected [by law], for these furnish 
practically all the spawn for the following year. Only 
scallops under this age need protection. ... It does 
no harm to capture scallops more than one year old; in 
fact, it would be an economic loss if they were not taken, 
as nearly all die before a second [dredging] season." 

It is an interesting biological fact that in Pecten ir- 
radians we have an instance of an invertebrate animal 
the existence of which beyond its breeding time is of no 
value to Its offspring, yet continuing to live nearly half 
its life after that period. If, from the fact that a few 
live to breed a second time, it may be supposed that all 
formerly performed the reproductive function more than 
once, there still remains to be explained the abbreviation 
of the life period, and the fact that it now ends just be- 
fore instead of just after the reproductive act, a condition 
that might possibly be detrimental because of so large a 
food consumption, and at any rate certainly is not useful 
to the species. 

Paley undoubtedly would have seen in this an evidence 
of the benevolence of nature in allowing this highly or- 
ganized creature to live on into a placid old age to enjoy 



34^ Our Food Mollusks 

the pleasures of life after its responsibilities had passed. 
The convenience of an older method of interpreting 
natural phenomena is sometimes wistfully recalled. 

If laws protecting " seed " scallops, or those less than 
a year old, and allowing the capture of those above that 
age, should be passed and enforced in the scallop ter- 
ritory, how would it be possible for the dredger to deter- 
mine the age of individuals in his catch? For it fre- 
quently happens that seed scallops that have had abun- 
dant food are larger than the older ones. 

There is a very interesting way in which this may be 
done in the majority of cases. When the growth of the 
shell is resumed in May, a line is made around its margin 
where the new shell is added (Figure 66) . This is usually 
distinct and remains unaltered, so that when dredging be- 
gins in the fall, the fisherman may know that all scallops 
so marked have passed through a spawning season. In the 
few that live through a second May, another line is added. 
In some individuals, it is true, the line is indistinct, and in 
a few others additional lines are formed from some tem- 
porary check in the growth at various seasons, but usu- 
ally the line clearly records the resumption of growth in 
May. Probably the declining scallop fishery would be 
much improved if laws protecting the young, which have 
not spawned, were strictly enforced. 

The enemies of Pecten irradians are not numerous or 
very destructive. Scallops are occasionally eaten by 
ducks and geese, and some are destroyed by bottom- 
feeding fishes. They are attacked by the oyster drill, a 
spiral-shelled mollusk that files a hole through the shell 
and consumes the pulpy mass of the body. These drills, 
however, appear readily to be shaken off by the vigorous 
movements of the scallop, for partially drilled shells are 



m The Scallops 349 

frequently found. The most dangerous enemy is per- 
haps the starfish, which is quite numerous at times on 
some scallop beds. 

What might reasonably be hoped for in scallop culture 
is still difficult to state. Great numbers have been kept, 
the year through, confined in pens, and have grown rap- 
idly; but when free, their wanderings apparently are not 
extensive, so that it might not be necessary to plant them 
in inclosures. Like oysters and clams, they require a 
good circulation of water. It is an encouraging fact 
that young scallops for planting are extremely abundant 
in certain spots, where circumstances favor their collec- 
tion. If these were removed and deposited on other bot- 
toms, where they might be less exposed to ice or waves, 
it might sometimes prove to be profitable to the planter; 
but usually there would be little advantage in this, and 
at the present time it does not appear that any method 
of artificial culture other than the replanting of ex- 
hausted areas would be worth the labor involved in it. 



It has been said that one of the characteristics of the 
American poor is that they must have the best and most 
expensive of everything, and that more good food is 
wasted in the United States than in any other country on 
the globe. Certainly there are many edible marine mol- 
lusks, some of them occurring in great abundance on our 
shores, that are not found in our markets. In Europe, 
small gasteropods are cooked and marketed on the streets 
in paper bags as popcorn or roasted peanuts are here. 
The common black mussel (Mytilus edulis) is reared 
artificially all along the European coast. It grows rap- 
idly, and immense quantities are consumed. It occurs 



350 Our Food Mollusks 

on our shallow bottoms and tidal areas in enormous num- 
bers, and is a great pest on oyster and clam beds. Yet it 
is marketed in but one or two of our Atlantic cities, and 
is eaten for the most part by foreigners. A near rela- 
tive of the black mussel, Modiola, is quite as good for 
fcod. The large sea clam (Mactra), and the razor 
clam (Ensis) of the Atlantic, Gnathodon and Pholas 
of the Gulf, sometimes used locally for food, are rarely 
found in any market. Of the last mentioned, only 
Gnathodon is very abundant, however. It is true that 
most of these forms have a sweetish taste that is not 
agreeable to many persons, and intestinal troubles in rare 
instances result from eating the black mussel. 

Among fishes there are many of fine flavor that are not 
esteemed, and others perhaps equally good that are never 
eaten because it is not the custom. One of the best ex- 
amples of wastefulness in the matter of food is afforded 
by the dogfish, a small shark some four feet in length so 
destructive to other fishes, and so numerous that it has 
come to be regarded as the most serious menace con- 
fronting our marine fisheries. It has been estimated that 
thirty-seven million dogfish, equal in weight to half the 
total catch of Massachusetts fishermen, were taken by 
them in 1905. These pests are liberated after being 
caught, because at present they are of no value. They 
are almost equally numerous everywhere on the Atlantic 
coast, and are exceedingly abundant on the Pacific as 
well. And yet the flesh of the dogfish is firm, snow- 
white, and of very good flavor — not by any means to be 
regarded as inferior when one is unacquainted with its 
source — and the fact that such enormous numbers of 
them are each year actually taken from the water and 
cast back again, is a sad one to contemplate in view of 



The Scallops 351 

the struggle that many are compelled to make for 
food. 

It would be fortunate if the nation might wake to the 
fact that there are in the seas immense quantities of 
palatable and wholesome food not yet utilized. Custom 
interferes with the introduction of such food in many 
cases, but custom in this matter has been changed many 
times in the past, and it is easier now than it has been 
to consider all matters on their merits. 

The natural supply of many of the best of marine 
foods has been misused and dissipated. So it has been 
with useful terrestrial animals and plants. To have di- 
rected nature so that these were improved for human 
use and increased almost without limit, is one of man's 
greatest achievements. Many of the inhabitants of the 
ocean also are within his control, as he has already 
demonstrated in oyster culture and in the artificial prop- 
agation of many fishes. There is no reason to doubt, 
that the harvest of many other marine forms will eventu- 
ally become many times more abundant than the most 
bountiful that nature ever produced unaided. 



INDEX 



Acclimatization of eastern 
oysters on the Pacific 
coast, 2T2, 

Acephala, meaning of the term, 

21 

Adductor muscles of the oyster 
embryo, 47 
contraction of, to clear the 
mantle chamber, 58 
Agricultural schools in the U. S., 

purposes of, 76, 298 
Albemarle Sound, marine life 

absent from, 230 
Alabama, oyster fields of, 254 
Algae, growth of, on clam beds, 

286 
Appalachicola Bay, natural oyster 
beds of, 253 
survey of, 253 
Area available for clam culture 

in Massachusetts, 314 
Area devoted to oyster culture 
in Connecticut, 200 
in Louisiana, 266 
in New York, 200 
in Rhode Island, 200 
in Washington, 271 
Argument from design, 49 
Artificial fertilization of the 
egg. 109 
experiments on, 112 
in clams, 116, 307 
failure of, 115 
Atlantic coast the greatest 
ovster nursery in the world, 

inside waterways on, 269 
Attachment of the oyster, 48 

Bamboo, its use in Japanese 

oyster culture, 87 
Barnegat Bay, character of, 204 

natural oyster beds in, 178 
Bass, black, common names of, 
280 _ 
striped, introduction of, into 
the Pacific, 270 



Bay of Fundy, oysters in, 177 
Bayou Cook, rate of oyster 
growth in, 262 

Coquette, rate of oyster 
growth in, 262 

Schofield, rate of oyster 
growth in, 262 
Beaches, rights to, 181 
Belding, Mr. D. L., on the de- 
struction of young clams, 
291 

on the development of the 
hard clam, 323 

on the development of the 
scallop, 2>Z7 

on the growth of the hard 
clam, 326 

on the supposed migrations of 
the scallop, ZZ7 

on the reproduction of the 
scallop, 347 
Blue Points, 188 
Boats, capacities of, 139 

gasoline, 140 

history of the use of, in the 
northern field, 137 

modern steam, 136, 199 

sail, 134 

sizes of, 138 

tonging, 135 

used in oyster culture, 134 
Boston Harbor, clam flats of, 

277 
Bottoms, barren, for oyster cul- 
ture, lOI 

barren clam, in Massachu- 
setts, 314 

character of, on the Atlantic 
shore, 94 

favorable for the soft clam, 
282 

nature of, in Louisiana, 260 

paving of, 95 

of ponds in France, 83 

reclaiming of, 84 

softness of, on European 
shores, 82 



353 



354 



Index 



" Breeders," use of, 125 
Breeding season of bivalves, 25 

of oysters in France, 80 
Bridgeport, experiments on 

clam culture at, 305 
Brooks, Professor W. K., chair- 
man of the Maryland oyster 
commission, 212 
experiments of, on artificial 

fertilization, no 
on the oyster production -of 

Chesapeake Bay, 212 
oyster investigations of, 213 
quotation from, 16 
Bucephalus, an oyster parasite, 

163 
Bumpus, Dr. H. C, suggestion 

by, 299 
Buoys, oyster, in Long Island 

Sound, 197 
Burrowing habits of bivalves, 

28, 284 
Butter clam of Puget Sound, 

320 
Buzzards Bay, oysters in, 178 

scallops in, 339 
Byssus and the attachment of 
bivalves, 28 
of the hard clam, 324 
of the scallop, 342 
of the soft clam, 293 

Cape Cod, absence of oysters 

north of, 177 
Cascades, water power in, 3 
Chandeleur Islands, form of, 
258 
occurrence of the little neck 
on the west shore of, 9, 323 
Sound, oyster bottoms of, 259 
Chesapeake Bay, decline of nat- 
ural oyster beds in, 214 
fragmentary record of the 

oyster industry in, 208 
insecurity of title in, 223 
most prolific of oyster waters, 

206 
natural oyster beds of, 207 
oyster production of, 212 
shell heaps of, 176 
size of, 207 
soft clams in, 278 



Cilia on the body of the oyster, 
62 
on the mantle of the hard 

clam, 56 
movement and function of, 
on gill and palp, 2,1, 50, 54 
Civil War, effect of, on the 
Virginia oyster industry, 
211 
and the seed industry, 189 
Clam (see Soft clam and Hard 
clam) 
as a carrier of disease, 166 
fork, 282, 283 

term, applied to many forms, 
280 
Clay, use of, in reclaiming bot- 
toms, 84 
useful on clam flats, 286 
Cleanliness in packing oysters, 

203 
Cloaca, 30, 2>7 

Close season, absence of, in 
Louisiana, 266 
futility of, 182 
in Maine, 278 
Clutches, positive and friction, 

140 
Coal, waste of, 3 
Collectors, advantages of, 119 
in America, 118 
brush, 121 
crushed rock, 121 
in France, 78. 79, 80 
season for planting, 122 
slime collection on, 122 
small shells for, in Louisiana, 

261 
of tin, gypsum, cement, etc., 
122 
Colonial charters and beach 

rights, 181 
Colonists, records of, 177 
Common ownership of beaches, 

314 
Connecticut the leader in oyster 

culture. 191 
natural oyster beds of, 179 
old and new plans of state 

control of oyster industry 

in, 191 
oyster commission of, 194 
oyster laws of, 193, 195, 196 



Index 



355 



Connecticut : 
as a source of seed oysters, 
190 
Containers for the shipping of 

oysters, 141, 145 
Coon oysters, description of, 
238 
possible improvement in form 

of, 239 
in Florida, 252 
as seed producers, 240 
" Coppery " oysters, 252 
Corn meal, supposed fattening 

of bivalves on, 63 
Corporations in the northern 
oyster field, 201 
fear of, in Florida, 253 
Coste, M., French naturalist, 69 
successes and failures of, in 
oyster culture, 76 
Crabs as oyster enemies, 160 
Creeping habits of bivalves, 27, 

344 
of the scallop, 344 
of the soft clam, 293 
Culling, beneficial effects of, 242 
laws governing, 140 
in Louisiana, 257 
Cultch (see Collectors) 
Currents and dense segregations 
of soft clams, 292, 308 
and food distribution, 95 
influence of, on the growth of 

the hard clam, 327 
determining the rate of 
growth, 287 

Damariscotta River shell heap, 

176 
DeBon, M., and French oyster 

culture, jz 
Delaware Bay, deep oyster beds 
in. 198 
natural oyster beds in, 178 
Density (see Salinity) 
Depth of water over oyster 

fields, 198 
Diatoms, capture of, 53 
distribution of, 95 
as food organisms consumed 

by bivalves. 51, 287 
growth of, 96 
Digestive tract of bivalves, 20 



Dogfish, as a food animal, 350 
Dredge, oyster, 131 

capacity of, 134 

form of, 133 

operation of. 134, 135 

use of, forbidden in Virginia, 

215 
Drew, Professor G. A., on the 

development of the giant 

scallop, 340 
Drumfish as an oyster enemy, 

158 
presence of in the Gulf of 

Mexico, 263 
Duxbury clam flats, 278 

East River, natural oyster beds 
in, 178 
oystermen originators of oys- 
ter culture in America, 179 

Eel-grass at Chandeleur Islands, 
259 
destructive to the soft clam, 

285, 302 
why scallops appear in, 342 

Eggs, number of, in the oyster, 
24 

Essex clam culture experiment, 
305 

European oyster, 69 

Excretory system of bivalves. 

Female cell (see Ovum) 
Field, Dr. G. W., on beach 

rights, 315 
Flavor of oysters, 143 
Flies and typhoid fever, 167 
Florida, fish commission of, 253 

law enforcement in, 253 

shell heaps in. 252 
Food organisms consumed by 

bivalves, 51 
Foot of bivalves, 27 

embryonic, of oyster, 47 

of young soft clam, 291 

swimming by, in group of bi- 
valves, 341 
Freight charges on eastern oys- 
ter seed, 272 
French oyster culture, 71 

history of, JZ 

modern methods of, 78 



356 



Index 



Freshening of oysters, 141 

and typhoid fever, 171 
Frost, dangers from, in oyster 
culture, 81 

Gas, waste of, 3 
Gills, automatic selection of 
food by, in Pecten, 64 

ciliation of, 59 

as collecting organs, 29 

filaments and lamellae of, 30 

functions of, 36 

movements of, 65 
Gloucester clam flats, 277 
Great South Bay, hard clams of, 

Green oysters, 86 
Growth of bivalves suspended 
in winter in the north At- 
lantic, 54 
of eastern oyster in San Fran- 
cisco Bay, 270 
of oysters in low tempera- 
tures, 96 
of oysters, time required for, 

in Louisiana, 262 
rate of, in Puget Sound, 271 
of the scallop. 345 
of the soft clam, 300-304 
time necessary for, 103 
Gulls dropping clams to break 

the shells, 284 
Gulf of Mexico, coast of, in 
Texas, 267 
rapidity of oyster growth in, 

264 
salinity of water in, 54, 265 
spits and islands of, 269 
Gulf of St. Lawrence, oysters 
in, 175 

Habituation of marine food 
organisms to new localities, 
8 
" Harbor plants," 127 
Hard clam (Venus mercenaria), 
age attained by, 327 
box culture of, 328 
burrowing of, 322 
ciliation of mantle of, 56 
ciliation of visceral mass of, 
59 



Hard clam : 
at the Chandeleur Islands, 323 
common names of, 280 
creeping habit of, 324 
culture, area available for, 

331 
decrease of, 323 
development of, 324 
digestive tract of, 20 
distribution of, 321, 322 
excretory organs of, 23 
foot of, 27 
gills of, 30 
growth experiments on, 324, 

326 
no growth of, in winter in 

the North, 327 
industry, possible returns 

from, 332 
present condition of, 330 
insensibility of, to extremes 

of temperature, 331 
mantle of, 19 
marketing of, 322 
names given to, 321 
natural enemies of, 328 
nervous system of, 26 
raking of, 322 
seed, 330 

sexual organs of, 24 
shell of, 13 
siphon tubes of, 20 
in the South, 323 
transplanted in Louisiana, 9 
vascular system of, 22 
wandering habit of the, 325 
Hermaphroditism, 24, no 
Hudson River, natural oyster 

beds in, 178 
Hydroid growth on oysters, 163 

Ice, action of, on oyster beds, 

241 
Indian feasts, 176 
Ingersoll, Mr. Ernest, on the 

futility of a close season, 

182 
Islands formed by oyster 

growth, 232 

Japanese oysters, 87 

introduction of, into America, 
275 



Ind 



ex 



357 



Lake Borgne, freshness of, 258 
Pontchartrain, freshness of, 

258 
Lease of bottoms, objections to, 
181 
of clam beaches and flats, 305 
in Connecticut, 182 
in Louisiana, 266 
Little neck clam (see Hard 

clam ) 

Long Island Sound, natural 

oyster beds in, 178 

protection of property in, 186 

rate of oyster growth in, 262 

Long neck clam (see Soft 

clam) 
Louisiana, achievements of, in 
oyster culture, 266 
history of oyster industry in, 

265 
legislature of, 265 
oyster commission of, 265 
publishes oyster laws in of- 
ficial journal, 267 
reserves bottoms for scientific 
experiment, 267 
Lugger used in Louisiana, 135 
Luggermen, first oyster planters 

in Louisiana, 260 
Lynnhaven oysters, 188 

Mactra solidissima, the " sea 

clam," 29 
Maine shore, clams of, 278 

oysters on, 175 
Malthus on population, 2 
Mangrove, oysters attached to 

roots of, 252 
Manhattan Island, natural oyster 

beds about, 178 
Male cell (see Spermatozoon) 
Mantle, ciliation of, 56 
origin of, 47 

structure of, in bivalves, 19 
Maryland, oyster laws of, 213, 
225, 227 
definition of a natural oyster 

bed, 194 
early oyster industry in, 210 
oyster commission of 1882, 

208 
shell-fish commission of, 225 



Market, preparation of oysters 

for, in France, 87 
Market, oyster, 141 
at Baltimore, 209 
at Biloxi, 254 
at Mobile, 254 
at New Haven, 203 
at New York, 203 
at Philadelphia, 204 
Massachusetts, General Court 
of, 316 
Fish and Game Commission, 

experiments by, 303, 313 
present shell-fish laws of, 315 
Bay, oyster beds of, in the 
17th century, 178 
Matagorda Bay, oyster industry 

of, 267 
Maturation of the ovum, 43 
Middens, kitchen, 176 
Mississippi, oyster territory of, 

254 

Mississippi River, crevasses in 

levees of. 263 

waterways, improvement of, 

affecting oyster culture, 264 

Mobius on water currents, 287 

Monopolies, fear of, 181, 224, 

266 

Moore, Mr. H. F., statement of, 

concerning oyster growth, 

262 

Mop for removing starfish, 156 

Mt. Desert Island, ovsters of, 

Mucus, of gill, use of, 53 

of other surfaces. 56 
Mud and the destruction of 
oysters north of Cape Cod, 

experiments on the paving of, 

in Louisiana, 260 
on the Florida coast, 253 
on the French coast, 78 
preventing the feeding of bi- 
valves, 55 
and the starvation of oysters, 

234 
Mussel, black, as a food mol- 

lusk, 349 
gills of, 31 
as an oyster enemy, 161 



358 



Index 



Mussel : 

ribbed, as a food mollusk, 349 
Mustard plant, descendants of, 

5 
Mya arenaria (see Soft clam) 
Mytilus edulis (see Mussel, 

black) 

Narragansett Bay, natural 
oyster beds in, 178 
as a producer of seed oysters, 

202 
rental of bottoms in, 200 
scallops of, 339 
Natural oyster beds, definition 
of, 194 
destruction of, in Europe, 71 
disappearance of, in the 

North, 184 
extension of, 241 
Natural resources, destruction 

of, 3 

Navy, oyster, of Maryland, 217 

inadequacy of, in Virginia, 

223 

Nervous system of bivalves, 26 

New Haven, oyster market at, 

203 
New York, oyster market at, 

203 
Nippers, 131 
Nita crevasse, 263 
Nomenclature used in biology, 

280 
North Carolina, decline of nat- 
ural oyster beds of, 245 
hard clams of, 323 
oyster field of, 231 
November gale of i8g8, 258 

Ohio, decrease in farm values 

of, 3 
Oosperm, 44 

Ostrea virginica (see Oyster) 
Ovum, structure and function 

of, 40 
Oyster, absence of foot in adult 
of, 29 
beds, natural, between tide 

lines, 234 
a brackish water form. 230 
clusters, culling of, 102, 134, 
140 



Oyster : 

clusters, formation of, 126, 
261, 236 

as a disease carrier, 166 

drill, 157 

eastern, in San Francisco 
Bay, 270, 271 

European, 69 

fattening of, 127 

gills of, 34 

growth and the formation of 
islands, 232 

growth in muddy waters, 235 

heart of, 23 

mantle of, 19 

navy, 217 

number of eggs produced by, 
24 

of the Pacific, 269 

planting, 100 

in politics, 216 

Portuguese, 69 

for seed, size of, lOl 

segmentation of the egg of, 45 

shell of, 17 

size of, 188 

tongs, 129 
Oyster culture, adverse condi- 
tions of, in Europe, 81 

in America, 82 

on barren bottoms, loi 

beginnings of, in Maryland 
and Virginia, 223 

in deep water, 198 

definition of, 100, 118 

early attempts at, in North 
Carolina, 248 

expense connected with, 129 

European methods of, not 
possible in America, 92 

local variations of method in, 
124 

origin of, in America, 179 

not practised in North Caro- 
lina, 248 

far from shore, 198 

transplanting in, 125 

in Washington, 270 

in winter, 139 

Pacific coast line, 269 

native oysters of, 269 
Packing industry, origin of, in 
Maryland, 209 



Index 



359 



Packing industry : 

origin of, in Virginia, 211 
Paley's Natural Theology, 49 
Palps, ciliation of, 60 
as organs for the selection of 
food and the rejection of 
objectionable material, 61 
of the oyster, 21 
Pamlico Sound, depth of, 243 
efifect of storms on, 247 
history of the oyster industry 

on, 243 
Maryland oyster dredges on, 

244 
oyster production of, 245 
tides in, 231, 243 
Paper shell clams, 282 
Pearls, formation of, 15 
Pecten irradians (see Scallop) 
Pholas, ciliated membrane of, 

66 
Pirates, oyster, cruelties prac- 
tised by, 221 
recruiting of crews by, 221 
depredations of, 220 
of Maryland, 218 
Pliny, reference by, to early 

oyster culture, 69 
Plymouth clam flats, 279, 316 
Polar cells, 43 

bear, soft clam eaten by, 278 
Ponds, oyster, in France, 83 
Potomac River. 207 
Private ownership of beaches, 

Puget Sound, plantmg of native 

oysters in, 270 
no reproduction of ('astern 

oysters in, 272 
the soft clam in, 319 



Quahaug. derivation of name of, 
321 (see Hard clam) 

Racks, use of. in French oyster 
culture, 84 

Rappahannock River, illegal 
dredging in, 219 

Raritan Bay oyster field, 204 

Reproduction of eastern oys- 
ter not possible in Puget 
Sound, 272 



Revenue from Chesapeake Bay, 

an object of laws in Maryland 

and Virginia, 228 
from oyster leases in Mary- 
land, 218 
Ripple marks on clam flats, 285 
Ryder, Professor J. A., experi- 
ments of, on artificial fer- 
tilization of oyster eggs, 114 

St. Bernard Parish, freshening' 
of waters of, 263 
natural oyster beds of, 256 
shell accumulations of, 257 
shore of, 256 
tides in, 257 
Sale of bottoms, objections to, 

181 
Salinity of water, determination 
of, 97 
affecting the soft clam, 288, 

in the Gulf of Mexico, 54, 265 
maximum and minimum, and 

reproduction, 99 
sudden changes of, 99 
its variation in North Caro- 
lina. 242 
Sand, reclaiming bottoms by use 
of, 84 
shifting of, 127, 248 
San Francisco Bay, eastern 

oysters in, 270, 271 
Scallops, Atlantic species of, 
280, 336 
attachment of, 342 
breeding season of, 340 
ciliation of the gills of, 64 
common names of, 335 
creeping habit of, 344 
distribution of, 335, 339 
dredging of, 339 
enemies of, 348 
eyes of, ZZ^ 
foot of, 341 
freshening of, 334 
gills of, 32 
growth of. 345 
hermaphroditism in, 24 
length of life of, 346, 348 
life of, prolonged beyond the 
reproductive period, 347 



360 



Index 



Scallops : 
supposed migration of, 337 
preparation of, for market, 

335 
high price of, 334 
seed, 348 
shell of, 333 
swimming habit of adult of, 

336 
of embryo of, 341 
Scientific experiment, bottoms 
reserved for, in Louisiana, 
267 
Seaweeds, their effect on the 
feeding of oysters, 127, 163 
Seed oysters, care of, after 
planting, 126 
end of importation of, from 

the South, 190 
planting of, 104 
sent from New York to the 

Pacific, 272 
size of, loi 
source of, 105, 202 
from the South to be used in 
New England, 105, 189 
Sex, change of, 189 
Sexual organs of bivalves, 24 
Shad, introduction of, into the 
Pacific, 270 
propagation of, 7 
Shell accumulations in Louisi 
ana, 261 
appearance of, in the embryo, 

47 
destruction of, by decaying 

organic matter, 282 
as oyster collector, 261 
thin, cause of, 189 
Sheepshead as an oyster enemy, 

159 
Shipping of oysters, 145 
Shucking of oysters, 144 
Siphon, structure and function 

of, 20, 57 
Slime on collectors, 122 

organisms, 123 
Soft clam (Mya arenaria), beds, 
digging of, beneficial, 288 
breeding habits and develop- 
ment, 290 
breeding season of, 290 
burrowing of, 284 



Soft clam : 

byssus attachment of, 293 

creeping habit of, 293, 294 

culture, 306, 307 

dense segregations of, 288, 
292, 308 

disappearance of. 277, 318 

distribution of, 278, 283 

effect of varying salinity on, 
288, 313 

experiments on, culture, 299 

former abundance of, in New 
England, 277 

growth of, 300, 301, 302 

introduction of, into the Pa- 
cific, 9, 270 

" juice " of, 279 

market for. 319 

methods of planting, 311, 312 

natural enemies of, 289, 294 

New England Laws govern- 
ing culture of, 305 

nomenclature referring to, 
280 

position of, on the shore, 277, 
282 

seed, 300, 307, 313 

settling of, 292, 308 

shells of, in kitchen middens, 
177 

siphon tubes of. 281 

yield per acre of, 314 
" Sound stock," 127 
Spat, constancy of the set of, 
in the Gulf of Mexico, 46 

set of, influenced by tempera- 
ture, 46 

in 1899, 106 
Spawning season (see Breeding 

season) 
Species, structure indicating re- 
lationship of, II 
Spermatozoon, union of, with 
ovum, 43 

structure and function of, 40 
Sponge as an oyster enemy, 162 
Starfish, absence of in Louisiana, 
263 

distribution of, 149 

as a clam enemy, 294 

as an oyster enemy, 148 

in European waters, 82 

food of, 151 



Index 



361 



Starfish : 

growth of, 154 
method employed by, in de- 
vouring bivalves, 152 
in Puget Sound, 270 
removal of, 155 
structure of, 151 
Steaming of oysters, 146, 209 
Stevenson, Mr. J. R., on the 
segregation of soft clams, 
308 
Struggle for existence, balance 

in, 19 
Surveys of natural oyster beds 
in Virginia, 215 

Tapes in Japan, 87 

in Puget Sound, 320 

Temperature, effect of. on the 

segmentation of the ovum, 

46 

on the greening of oysters, 86 

on the growth of the scallop, 

345 
changes on clam development, 

290 
on soft clams, 279, 312 
low, effect of, on young oys- 
ters, 97 
on reproduction of the eastern 

oyster, 272 
of the Pacific coast, 272 
maximum and minimum, in 

reproduction, 97 
variations affecting the hard 

clam, 331 
Terrebonne Bay, 259 

rate of oyster growth in, 262 
Texas, oyster field of, 267 

laws of, 268 
Thatch, soft clams growing in, 

284, 286 
Tonging boat, 135 

ground in Maryland, 219 
Tongs, oyster, 129 
of Pamlico Sound oystermen, 

244 
patent, 131 



Typhoid fever carriers, dangers 
from, 168 

convalescents, dangers from, 
168 

introduction of organism of, 
into the human body, 167 

absence of shell-fish laws pro- 
tecting from, 197 

and the freshening of bi- 
valves, 171 

sources of infection by or- 
ganism of, 167 

shell-fish as carriers of, 169 



Vascular system of bivalves, 22 
Velum of the oyster embryo, 47 
of the scallop, 340 
of the soft clam, 291 
Venus mercenaria (see Hard 

clam) 
Virginia, excellence of oysters 
from, 224 
origin of oyster packing in, 

211 
oyster planting in, 190 
shipping of seed from, 105 
Visceral mass, 56 
ciliation of, 59 



Wampum, source of, 321 

Washington, soft clam in, 319 
oyster reserves of, 270 

Wave action on oyster beds, 241 
in Pamlico Sound, 243 

Wellfleet, oysters at, 177, 179 
and southern seed, 189 

West Washington oyster market 
in New York. 203 

Wheat land, available, 6 

Willapa Bay, planting of native 
oysters in, 270 

Windlass, use of, in oyster cul- 
ture, 134 

Winslow, Lieutenant, oyster 
survey of, 244 

Winter, oyster culture in, 139 



THE AMERICAN NATURE SERIES 

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the publishers of the American Science Series have begun the publi- 
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REPTILES AND BATRACHIANS, by Leonhard Stejneger, 
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THE LIFE OF A FOSSIL HUNTER, by Chahles H. Steunberg. 
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SHELL-FISH INDUSTRIES, by James L. Kellogg, Professor 
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THE CARE OF TREES IN LAWN, STREET AND PARK, by 
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CHEMISTRY OF DAILY LIFE, by Henry P. Talbot, Professor 
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DOMESTIC ANIMALS, by William H. Brewer, Professor 
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INSECTS AND DISEASE, by Rennie W. Doane, Assistant Pro- 
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Arranged Jhr: 
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A Series of volumes by President Jordan, of Stanford Univer- 
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Arranged for: 

THE STABILITY OF TRUTH, by David Starr Jordan. 

HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY, New York 

January, '10. 

3 



AMERICAN NATURE SERIES 

THE FRESHWATER AQUARIUM 
AND ITS INHABITANTS 

A Guide for the Amateur Aquarist. By Otto Eggeling and 
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With 100 illustrations from photographs, large 12mo, 352 pp. 
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A freshwater aquarium is far easier to maintain than either 
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This volume gives clear and complete instructions to the ama- 
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aquatic creatures will or will not live in peace together. 

CONTENTS 

I. The Aquarium. 

II. Aquarium Plants. 

III. The Inhabitants of the Aquarium. 

IV. The Feeding of the Inmates of the Aquarium. 
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VI. Fish Maladies. 
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"The best guide to the aquarium." — The Independent. 

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By DAVID STARR JORDAN 

A GUIDE TO THE STUDY OF 
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2 volumes, 934 illustrations. 1223 pp. $12.00 net, postage extra. 
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A coranrehensive work, at once scientific and popular, by the lead- 
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FISHES 

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